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2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Introduction

One of the most fascinating phenomenon in the works of Abulafia and
Gikatilla is the deconstruction of the biblical texts into its smallest units,
which served as the most important focal point for the mystical experience,
in order to recreate a meaning sometimes infinite. The reconstruction of
the letters into a new text and the meaning of this new text for the mystical
encounter can be observed in both categories of Gikatilla's texts. The first
kabbalist to use this technique was Abulafia' s teacher R. Barukh Togarmi,
who used it in order to reveal the static truths of the text, i.e. reality. In his
commentary on Sefer Yetzirah (Ms Paris 770, fol. la-6b) he applied this
technique in order to recreate the status of the biblical text before its per-
mutation and descent into a lower level of existence. The aim of this "crea-
tive radicalism" based on the linguistic theories of Sefer Yetzirah is the
penetration into the deeper levels of the Torah and the attainment of a mys-
tical experience, an encounter with the "original" text and its author. With
this method the hierarchical relation between text and reader changes,
since at a certain stage the text ceases to be the nexus between reader and
divine author. At this level, the mystic is transformed via his exegetical
techniques into the mediator between text and author and incorporates the
new, living expression of the divine revelation.

Shlomo Blickstein 1 has examined the influence which R. Barukh To-
garmi' s enigmatic commentary on Sefer Yetzirah had on Gikatilla's early
writings. 2 He claims that Abulafia served as an important intermediary be-
tween Togarmi and Gikatilla. The hermeneutics of the ecstatic kabbalah,
based on Hokhmat haTzeruf or "wisdom of letter combination", might be
described with Moshe Idel and Andreas Kilcher as horizontal hermeneu-
tics, wherein the aim of interpretation is a syntactic, semiotic and rhetori-

Cf. S. Blickstein, Between Philosophy and Mysticism. PhD Thesis Jewish Theologi-
cal Seminary of America, 1984.
2 Cf. ibid., pp. 184-190.
Cf. A. Kilcher, Die Sprachtheorie der Kabbala als asthetisch.es Paradigma, Stutt-
gart 1998.

4 M. Idel already used this term in his monograph Kabbalah: New Perspectives.

Introduction

cal organization of the textual elements. Gikatilla frequently uses the
methods of Togarmi and Abulafia in his Ginnat 'Egoz, which may be de-
scribed as an extended version of Togarmi's treatise. In Gikatilla's early
writings the method of Tzerufei 'Otiyyot is presented as a more mathemati-
cal recombination 5 of the divine name like Gematria, in order to gain di-
rect access to the divinity. According to Ms Oxford 1822, there was a list
of 75 different forms of Gematriot? Gikatilla definitely uses several of
these methods, esp. the numerical value of words, the Millui, the method of
p Ml N and the addition of the 1000 as 1 to the total number. Several of those
methods will be illustrated in the texts mentioned below.

In his later Sha'ar haNiqqud Gikatilla associates the method of letter
combination with the prophetic experience, which instructs the prophet in
the secrets of the Torah. Here, the union with the divine name at the end of
the combinatory technique is also conceived as a mystical ideal like in
Abulafia' s kabbalah. Another example of such a central position of letter
combination with a wide-ranging Gematria in most varieties has been ana-
lyzed by Moshe Idel 7 in an examination of the writings of R. Nehemia ben
Shlomo haNavi, a contemporary of Eleazar of Worms. Eleazar uncovers
through Gematria the mystical meditations on prayers, which may be
evoked during the actual repetition of the words. According to Eleazar, the
Gematriot connect the midrashic legends with the words of the biblical
verses, and some reveal the mysteries of the world of the Merkavah and
the angels, in this way. 8 R. Nehemiah ben Shlomo haNavi, however, re-
flects the centrality of this technique outside the circle of Kalonymide eso-
tericism in Worms, which embodies an important stream besides the Kalo-
nymides that may have been influential on the kabbalah in Spain.

We may assume that despite the dramatic intellectual change brought
about by adopting a different form of kabbalah, Gikatilla retained the mys-

5 On the connection between mathematical ideas, lexicographic forms of order and
poetic creation in general between lore and literature, see A. Kilcher, Mathesis und Pole-
sis. Enzyklopadie der Literatur 1600 bis 2000, Munich 2003.

6 Cf. G. Scholem, Art. "Gematria", in Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 7, Jerusalem
2 1997, pp. 424-427.

7 Cf. M. Idel, "Some Forlorn Writings of a Forgotten Ashkenazi Prophet. Rabbi Ne-
hemia ben Shlomo ha-Navi", Jewish Quarterly Review 95, 1 (2005), pp. 183-196; idem.,
"The Commentaries of R. Nehemiah ben Shlomo to the Forty-Two Letter Divine Name",
Kabbalah. Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 14 (2006), pp. 157-261 (He-
brew). In this article we find several passages about the idea of "weaving" the diadem of
the divine throne, with the mystic's ascent and his being enthroned on high, his becoming
the 'Atarah of the divine. See most recently idem, "Incantations, Lists and 'Gates of
Sermons' in the Circle of Rabbi Nehemiah ben Shlomo the Prophet, and their Influ-
ences", Tarbiz 77 (2009), pp. 475-554 (Hebrew).

8 This idea is crucial for Gikatilla's interpretation of the Merkavah in Sha'ar ha-
Niqqud.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

tical importance of letter combination as related to an ascending order of
the ten sefirot. Like Abulafia, Gikatilla emphasizes the important role of
the divine names. Though adopting the literary genre cultivated by the the-
osophical kabbalist, he nevertheless remained somehow faithful to an ap-
proach that can be found in ecstatic kabbalah. In Sha'arei 'Orah we find
the idea of letter combination in connection with the divine names, but this
time he describes the rooms of the palace as hosting the secrets of the To-
rah - a vertical concept of hermeneutics in contrast to the horizontal one of
ecstatic kabbalah. On the one hand the role of linguistic techniques seems
to have become marginal and other concepts have replaced their role in the
mystical encounter. But on the other hand, we still may find remnants of
the linguistic kabbalah of Togarmi and Abulafia and observe their trans-
formation into a broader hermeneutic system in Gikatilla' s later work.
There are many "hidden", implicit Gematriot in Sha 'arei 'Orah, which we
may only understand with the help of their first, explicit appearance in
Ginnat 'Egoz. I suggest that what we observe in Gikatilla' s writings is a
move from a kind of "microcosmic" use of Tzeruf 'Otiyyot as an exegetical
technique in order to invite a mystical experience (Ginnat 'Egoz) to a
"macrocosmic" organizing principle of the whole text (Sha'arei 'Orah).
We could call this also a move from language to text - from linguistic
technique to mystical handbook. I intend to examine how this transfor-
mation or "macrocosmization" of linguistic techniques works in detail and
examine the changes we find in the hermeneutic hierarchy as a conse-
quence of this transformation.

2.1 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Ginnat 'Egoz and Sha' ar haNiqqud

The young Gikatilla does not have his origin in the mainstream kabbalah in
Castile, but belongs to a very small elitist circle inspired by Barukh To-
garmi' s enigmatic commentary on Sefer Yetzirah. Abulafia designated this
kabbalist as his teacher nin (my teacher) 10 and he presumably studied with
him in Barcelona for a period around 1270. Togarmi's teachings are close
to those of the Hasidei Ashkenaz; his ideas have their own inner logic and
do not resemble the common Catalonian style of kabbalah at that time."

Cf. M. Verman, "The Development of Yihudim in Spanish Kabbalah", Jerusalem
Studies in Jewish Thought 8 (1989), p. 32 (English Section).

10 See G. Scholem, Major Trends, pp. 126-127; cf. M. Idel, Studies in Ecstatic Kab-
balah, Albany 1988, pp. 40-41, 99, 106 on the Eastern background of Togarmi. See also
M. Idel, The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia, Albany 1988, p. 5.

Cf. M. Idel, "Ashkenazi Esotericism and Kabbalah in Barcelona", Hispania Judaica
Bulletin 5 (2007), pp. 69-1 13.

2.1 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Ginnat 'Egoz and Sha'ar haNiqqud

After studying with Togarmi in Barcelona, Abulafia left for Castile, where
he had Gikatilla as a student (around 1274). However, we find remnants of
Togarmi' s linguistic system in Gikatilla' s work, which do not appear in
Abulafia' s writings. Ginnat 'Egoz can even be described as a further elabo-
ration of Togarmi' s manifesto on Sefer Yetzirah. Another representative of
this mystical stream with a tendency to Neopythagoreanism and its numer-
ical mysticism is represented by R. Natan ben Sa'adia Har'ar, another stu-
dent of Abulafia. It is also possible to see Togarmi's influence in the writ-
ings of R. Isaac of Acre 12 who studied many different kabbalistic schools.
What happened between 1270 and 1275 and the transition from Barcelona
to Castile regarding this small kabbalistic circle with its deep interest in
linguistic matters and transformative revelation through mystical tech-
niques, is still a matter for further research. 13

However, we can see a fundamental change in the definition of kabba-
lah and its nature. Both Gikatilla and de Leon were deeply involved in this
highly energetic literature with its Neopythagorean issues and later trans-
ferred these techniques from the linguistic to the sefirotic realm. Gikatilla
composed works of various lengths on the matter of divine names within
his changing hermeneutical system, raging between one page and his opus
magnum Sha 'arei 'Orah.

The manipulation of language is one of the main aspects of the linguis-
tic techniques as exemplified in Togarmi and Ginnat 'Egoz. 14 The intellec-
tual play with the text opens up the individual creativity and does not de-
scribe a fixed frame for the knowledge to be achieved. The term nnso or
mnriDa (key or keys) therefore plays a very important role in Togarmi and
Abulafia, who wrote several treatises with this term in the title, 15 and in
Gikatilla' s works.

12 Cf. B. Huss, "NISAN - The Wife of the Infinite: The Mystical Hermeneutics of
Rabbi Isaac of Acre", Kabbalah. Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 5 (2000),
pp. 155-181.

13 A decisive step in this direction has been made with Moshe Idel's various articles
on the school of R. Nehemia ben ShJomo and its influence in Spain.

14 On the connection between Togarmi, Gikatilla and the influence of Ginnat 'Egoz on
de Leon's 'Or Zaru'a, see A. Farber, "A New Fragment from the Introduction by Joseph
Gikatilla to Ginnat Egoz", Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 1 (1981), pp. 159-176
(Hebrew).

15 Cf. M. Idel, "Hieroglyphs, Keys, Enigmas. On G. G. Scholem's Vision of Kabba-
lah. Between Franz Molitor and Franz Kafka", in eds. B. Greiner and Ch. Schmidt, Arche
Noah. Die Idee der 'Kultur' im deutsch jiidischen Diskurs, Freiburg i. B. 2002, pp. 227-
248; and the passage in his article, "On the Meanings of the Term Kabbalah - Between
the Ecstatic and the Sefirotic Schools of Kabbalah in the 13th Century", Pe'amim 93
(2002), pp. 67-69 (Hebrew).

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Togarmi even named his treatise: x"ts> -\va 'in "'DQ rtapn JTinnso "ido m
'Q-uin (This is the book of the keys of kabbalah according to Barukh To-
garmi, cantor.)

Another example of this development is to be found in R. Azriel of Ge-
rona who saw in the art of letter combination the key to all the 70 language
derived from the language of the Torah, i.e. Hebrew: ' 6

(1) ... and there exists no speech in any language that is not derived from this verse that
consists the four divine Names which are: spirit, wisdom, understanding and knowledge
... [regarding the verse, Ezra 2: 2] "For Mordechai Bilshan ..." [interpreted here as -
"Mordechai, the expert in languages"] is called for his knowledge of the seventy lan-
guage [according to bMenahot 65a]. But this does not mean that he traveled far and wide
to learn each nation's language, rather he learned the key [to the method] of letter combi-
nation that forms all languages which are included in the Torah ... This statement indi-
cates that all languages are implied in the Torah, were it not so it would be impossible
[for the Talmudic sages] to explain the Hebrew language by means of a foreign lan-
guage. 17

We may assume a profound influence from Ashkenaz and from Babylonian
exegesis on these linguistic activities. 18 The various uses of the "clue/key"
demonstrate that such techniques open the way to an exoteric kind of
knowledge. Whereas Origen, in his key parable, esp. in his Commentary on
Psalms, talks about different keys to different rooms, Abulafia and To-
garmi present an overall linguistic key, which opens up a whole system.
The mystic enters into a state of mind where he does not control language,
but language controls him. Oral transmission is a very important basis for
such an initiation, as the teachings of those kabbalists are hardly commit-
ted to writing. We could also describe this as an alternative chain of trans-
mission in comparison with the famous dictum in mAvot 1: l 19 as in other
magical books (Sefer haRazim for example).

Togarmi goes on to write in his commentary on Sefer Yetzirah: 20

(2) This is a commentary on Sefer Yetzirah which we received in our hands [by way of
tradition] from the mouth of the Rabbi Barukh of blessed memory, including three meth-
ods of kabbalah: Gematria and Notarikon and Temurah (= 1367 = 1+367 = 368). And

' Commentary on the Talmud Aggadoth, ed. I. Tishby, Jerusalem 1982, p. 28 (He-
brew).

Translation with variations according to M. Idel, Language, Torah, and Hermeneu-
tics in Abraham Abulafia, Albany 1989 p. 9.

18 Cf. the article of S. Lieberman, "A Mesopotamian Background for the so-called
Aggadic Measures of Biblical Hermeneutics?", Hebrew Union College Annual 58 (1987),
pp. 157-225.

19 For a magical context of this dictum, see M. D. Swartz, "Magical Piety in Ancient
and Medieval Judaism", in eds. M. Meyer and P. Mirecki, Ancient Magic and Ritual
Power, Leiden 1995, p. 172, including further references in note 20.

20 Cf. Ms Paris BN 770, fol. la-6b.

2.1 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Cinnat 'Egoz and Sha'ar kaNiqqud

their secret is the spirit of the living god (Ruah 'Elohim Hayyim = 368), which is found
in the calculation {beHeshbon = 368) of "in book and ink" (beSefer weDyyio = 368),
which correspond to each other [lit. one by one] in their sum. This means that with the
help of corresponding letter combination (beTzeruf = 368) the name YHWH {haShem
YHWH) will be found, and therefore it is said: "Barukh is he, who comes in the name of
YHWH" {beShem YHWH = 368).

Togarmi 's passage is based on the Gematria: vn 1DCO (in book and ink)
= prwm (in the sum) = 0"n DTi^N nn (spirit of [the] living god) = 368 and
the numerical value of the linguistic devices: miam iipnoin xnaa'i (Ge-
matria and Notarikon and Temurah) - 1367 (1+367 = 368). In Gematria
one can turn the thousand into one and add it to the overall sum. Thus the
sum of 368 is also found in the linguistic devices, the triad mentioned
above and the term 21 mrr DW3 (in the name of YHWH). Within the first
few lines we obtain an impressive amount of knowledge about Togarmi's
system. With the help of the linguistic techniques Gematria} 1 Notarikon
and Temurah (= 1367 = 1+367 = 368) we achieve a correlational (irw 1 ? irm,
one by one) access to the divine realm (o"n DTI7N nn = 368). The deity
itself is found within these techniques (ynwm = 368 = nmn) and reveals
God His divine name (mn 1 umi = 368) to the author of the text (Tm is a
clear indication that he is talking about himself). Togarmi or his student
(because of the "?"T) have received those traditions orally ("'D») and are now
giving the basic keys to the initiated. With the help of these keys, 23 the
mystic can gain access to the spirit of the living God according to Sefer
Yetzirah, which has such mystical techniques as its main topics. However,
with Togarmi such techniques became purely mathematical (pn^n) and the
different keys are various mathematical operations applied as an exegetical
method. By such technical hermeneutics the mystic can obtain the power

21 Cf. M. Idel, "On the Meanings of the Term Kabbalah - Between the Ecstatic and
the Sefirotic Schools of Kabbalah in the 13th Century", Pe'amim 93 (2002), p. 64, n. 100
(Hebrew).

Cf. for an overview of the present state of research on Gematria, see D. Abrams,
"From Germany to Spain: Numerology as a Mystical Technique", Journal of Jewish
Studies 47 (1996), p. 90-91, n. 28; cf. also I. Gruenwald, "Uses and Abuses of Gema-
tria", in ed. M. Bar Asher, Rabbi Mordechai Breuer Festschrift, vol. 2, Jerusalem 1992,
pp. 823-832 (Hebrew); cf. also the remarks of P. Fenton about the Jewish influence on
the mystical function of the Arabic alphabet like Ibn Arabi et al. and the Muslim "science
of letters" and its interaction with Jewish exegesis and esotericism, see P. B. Fenton,
"Judaism and Sufism", in eds. D. H. Frank and O. Leaman, The Cambridge Companion
to Medieval Jewish Philosophy, Cambridge 2003, p. 204.

23 On Gematria as the numerical key of the word as the main task of exegesis in the
writings of Hasidei Ashkenaz, see I. Ta-Shma, "Introduction", in eds. D. Abrams and I.
Ta-Shma, Sefer Gematriot of R. Judah the Pious, Los Angeles 1998, p. 18. On the entire
topic, see now his collected essays in I. Ta-Shma, Studies in Medieval Rabbinic Litera-
ture, vols. 1-2, Jerusalem 2004 (Hebrew).

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

of the divine name and use that power in prophecy. This experience reveals
a static truth, which contains all (linguistic and ontological) reality 24 (Kin
13 "73m ^33, He is in everything and everything is in Him) 25 of which the
final secret will only be revealed orally. 26

Abulafia mentions several times the importance of Gematrla and Tzeruf
'Otiyyot as the "root" of knowledge of the secrets of all wisdom (Qabba-
lah). In 'Imrei Shefer we read:

(3) Know and understand from this conclusion that [the method ot] letter combination is
the root of the knowledge all orders of wisdom, which the Name [i.e. God] has revealed
to human beings. Moreover, this is true just [of letters] without vowel points; but [letters]
with their vocalization lead to endless calculation.

Gikatilla expresses this idea in Ginnat 'Egoz as follows (p. 42):

(4) We must be initiated (Lehit'orer) again of a very honorable secret [issue]: the secrets
of the unique Name are specially elucidated in the secret of three methods of the kabba-
lah, which are Gematria, Natarikon, Temurah. In this way we have to be initiated into the
secret of Gematria, which is the secret of calculation.

Gikatilla however connects the linguistic techniques explicitly with "the
secrets of the name" and elaborates further on the Tetragrammaton and
goes on to extend it to four forms n"\ V'n 1 , n""i;r and "\ Later on he deals
with the different numerical values of these names, written in various
manners (plene or in letters only) and their function in the emanational
process. This extension of the divine names has to be performed accord-
ing to certain secret rules, which are only known by the initiated {Ginnat
'Egoz, p. 42):

Cf. M. Idel, Absorbing Perfections, chap. 4.

According to Abulafia this word Kol is the most appropriate term for the Active In-
tellect, the intellect in charge of all the processes in the sublunar world and the source of
all knowledge. Cf. also Abraham ibn Ezra's use of that term, cf. E. R. Wolfson, "God,
the Demiurge and the Intellect: On the usage of the word Kol in Abraham Ibn Ezra", Re-
vue des Etudes Juives 149 (1990), pp. 77-1 11.

26 On orality in the school of Nahmanides, see D. Abrams, op.cit.; cf. also Abulafia's
remark about the uninterrupted transmission of the innermost truths in Judaism from an-
cient times as the heart of kabbalah in E. R. Wolfson, "Abraham Abulafia's Hermeneutic:
Secrecy and Disclosure of Withholding", in idem, Abraham Abulafia - Kabbalist and
Prophet. Hermeneutics, Theosophy, and Theurgy, Los Angeles 2000, p. 53.

Cf. Ms Munich, Bayrische Staatsbibliothek40, fol. Ilia; printed in ed. A. Gross, p.
185.

28 Cf. also M. Idel, "On the Meanings of the Term Kabbalah - Between the Ecstatic
and the Sefirotic Schools of Kabbalah in the 13th Century", Pe'amim 93 (2002), p. 64
(Hebrew), who adduces additional material from the school of Gikatilla in Ms New York
JTS 1891,95a-b.

2.1 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Ginnat ' Egoz and Sha'ar haNiqqud

(5) Know that the secret of the unique Name [YHWH] is 26, which is the known and
fixed key (Simon) to interpret the letters which are the secret of its use (Shimush)
YHWH, YHW, YH, Y. This is the secret of the use of the unique Name with the help of
the necessary 29 (rraian) secret, and the first three methods which we use throughout our
study.

These techniques however, create a circle for a small elite of initiated 30
(Ginnat 'Egoz p. 39: n^yath n^m ixina nn 31 or p. 29: ^own tt n p3tt>
yiaw 1 ? d^txi nwi 1 ? otv t? t^w). 32 The initiated need certain knowledge of
hermeneutical techniques (p. 29: l ?3 ! ? xin -|NU» 'O "?nj "1W3 -pis m rw
^Dwa) 33 to discover 34 the relevant Gematriot, which create a new kind of
wisdom. This knowledge opens up the way to an infinite creativity, which
is already concealed in Sefer Yetzirah and in linguistic theories to the vi-
sion of Ezekiel (n33nn n»5?» = 682 = cPl^a). The transformative
knowledge 5 leads the mystic to becoming himself the chariot of the divine
presence (n33"i», chariot); we could also name this process a certain kind
of apotheosis. 36 Gikatilla (or one of his students) expresses this idea as fol-
lows: 37

29 On the term nmDia Tftip (obligatory/necessary kabbalah), see also the anonymous
book Sefer haTzeruf, Ms Munich 22, fol. 196b: n"71 .rtap nm an onxrn v?N "w ^ tin sn
.nrroin rhip an □ninriDa ij •o t^it rtap Q^DtP 'lso (Know, my brother, that all these is-
sues are kabbalistic and they only belong to kabbalah as all their keys are of obligato-
ry/necessary kabbalah).

30 Cf. also Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 294, where Gikatilla explains the superiority of his
knowledge over natural sciences.

31 "And this is explained and revealed to the ones who understand."

32 "And this is enough to one who understands and has eyes to see and,ears to hear."

33 "And this needs no great explanation as it is known to everyone who understands."

34 Cf. the similar passages in Togarmi and Gikatilla regarding the veto on writing
down the secrets and their inner "desire" to commit them to writing. Cf. M. Hallamish,
An Introduction to the Kabbalah, Albany 1999, p. 22.

35 I would like to compare such transformative Gematria with Iamblichus' De Vita
Pythagorica, where a certain passage attributes the use of numerical methods to the divi-
nation to the Sage himself. According to the author, one of Pythagoras' greatest
achievements was that he was able to foretell events not by means of blood-sacrifice, but
using numbers, fcrfthis method was "purer, more divine, and closer to the heavenly num-
bers of the gods", Iamblichus, De Vita Pythagorica 54.21-5; compare also in his De Mys-
teriis, ed. E. de Places, Paris 1966, pp. 299-302; cf. S. Gersh, From Iamblichus to
Eriugena: An Investigation of the Prehistory and Evolution of the Pseudo-Dionysian
Tradition, Leiden 1978, p. 301; for the influence of Pythagorean thought in Jewish and
Christian Renaissance, esp. on Johannes Reuchlin, cf. M. Idel, "IV. On the Status of Py-
thagoras in Jewish and Christian Renaissance", in his "Introduction to the Bison Book
Edition" of eds. M. and S. Goodman, Johann Reuchlin. On the Art of Kabbala. De Arte
Cabalistica, Lincoln/London 1993, pp. xi-xvi.

36 Cf. M. Idel, "Enoch- The Mystical Cobbler", Kabbalah 5 (2000), pp. 265-286 (He-
brew); idem, "Enoch is Metatron", Immanuel 24/25 (1990), pp. 220-240; idem, "Meta-
tron - Observations on the Development of Myth in Judaism", in ed. H. Pedaya, Myth in

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

(6) Know that the letters of the honorable Name, whose secret is union (Yihud), are per-
mutated by combining them with the letters that follow the letters of the Name. This is
the secret of the Merkavah^ and you must be initiated concerning the great matter con-
tained therein.

Togarmi is concerned with this matter as Jacob Anatoli 's "they themselves
made up of their own hearts". In his commentary on Sefer Yetzirah 39 To-
garmi writes: And this is the name of our God YHWH KWZW (39)
KMWKSZ KWZW which is the secret of the name Merkavah. 40

In Ginnat 'Egoz, pp. 44-45 we read:

(7) Know that you will find four [letters], which are permutated in their combination ac-
cording to the letter before them in the alphabetical order. According to direct computa-
tion the secret of YHWH is KWZW, and its method is as follows: Yod is replaced by
Kaph, as Teth is by Yod, Kaph by Lamed, thus Yod is replaced by Kaph. And this is the
secret of the replacement of the first letter of the Name, Yod by Kaph. The second letter
He is replaced by Waw, as we explained previously. Be aware of the secret of YHWH in
the secret of its replacement which is KWZW (39), whose secret and sign is Tal (dew =
39), whose secret is YHWH 'EHAD (YHWH is One) (39).

As it seems Gikatilla 41 was inspired to this temurah of the Tetragrammaton
into V'TID with its following gematria, referring to the Shmonah 'Ezreh of
the daily prayer and its unifying the divine name, by Eleazar of Worms'
Sefer haHokhmah:

(8) And you will find in this gate 39 (Tal) letters versus 39 actions which are forbidden
on Shabbat, as it is written "Remember the Sabbat day and keep it holy" (Ex. 20: 8), "as
He has hallowed it" (Ex. 20: 11) Ontznp'i 'D Wipb tdt = imt). The initial and the final
letters of the words in Parashat Shabbat have as their Gematria KWZW (1T1D = 39),

Judaism - Eshel Beer Sheva 4 (1996), pp. 22-44 (Hebrew); idem, The Mystical Experi-
ence in Abraham Abulafia, pp. 13-54; idem, '"Unio Mystica' as a Criterion. 'Hegelian'
Phenomenologies of Jewish Mysticism", in ed. S. Chase, Doors of Understanding. Con-
versations in Global Spirituality in Honor of Ewert Cousins, Quincy 1997, pp. 303-333.

37 Cf. Ms New York JTS 1891, 65b. See also the writings of Gikatilla's students in Ms
Vatican 428, 88a and Ms Leiden-Warner 24, 190a (notice here also decimal system abed,
udx = 10 = Sod haMerkavah). For further elaboration on Abulafia and this idea, see M.
Idel, Language, Torah, and Hermeneutics, pp. 50-51 (Hebrew edition: p. 62).

38 Cf. M. Idel, Language, Torah, and Hermeneutics, p. 173, n. 112.

39 Cf. also Perush Sefer Yetzirah of Shlomo Ashkenazi and de Leon's Shekel
haQodesh with this Temurah.

40 Cf. Ms Paris 770, 5b. mmnn n&> no Nine ina r"03i»3 Vrn mrr irrr?x Dtz?n xini

41 Gikatilla comes back to this Temurah in Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 411, where he explains
the different modes of Temurah.

42 Cf. Rokeah: A Commentary on the Bible by Rabbi Elazar of Worms, vol. 1, ed. J.
Klugman, Bnei Brak, 1986, p. 42. On this treatise and its author, see M. Idel, "The
Commentaries of R. Nehemiah ben Shlomo to the Forty-Two Letter Divine Name", Kab-
balah. Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 14 (2006), pp. 157-261 (Hebrew).

2.1 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Ginnat ' Egoz and Sha'ar haNiqqud

which is Tal (39). This is told you from [the verse] "for your dew (Tal) is like the dew on
fresh growth" [lit. of lights] (Is. 26: 19). Lights ('Oof) have as numerical value 613, to
show you that 613 commandments appear in the letters of dew (Tal), and the truth is that
in it are 39 letters, and dew (Tal) has as numerical value KWZW (39), whose value is
also YHWH 'EHAD. Therefore we see that all these names are derived in truth; therefore
it is said (Yoma 69b): "[of the Holy One, blessed be He] His seal is truth" [His Name is
imprinted in all the Hebrew letters for truth, 'E-M-T consists of the first, middle, and last
letters of the Hebrew alphabet]. And this is said in the poetry [of Qallir] "On Your name
dew (Tal = 39) I will depend." 43

Eleazar operates in this passage with several linguistic techniques in order
to illustrate his ideas regarding the deity. Using the beginnings and ends of
the words, he reaches the ins, which has the same numerical value (39) as
*70 (dew) in Is. 26, where 44t 7D is put into correlation with the nmx (lights),
nmx have the same value as 613, the number of Mitzwot (command-
ments), which are explained through the 39 letters (22 plus 7 plus 10). The
main principle of the linguistic techniques is usually hinted at by the hen
(truth) indicating the tripartite order of the alphabet. Referring back to the
39 letters of the alphabet, Eleazar comes back to 39, the numerical value of
im, which is both a Temurah of the Tetragrammaton and has the Gematria
(39) of trix mrr (YHWH is one). We see in this passage both the inner
connection between ritual, linguistic technique and the understanding of
inner divine correspondences and how Eleazar 45 tries to reduce the biblical
text to divine names only, which can be manipulated by linguistic tech-
niques. The biblical and Talmudic texts can be properly understood only if
the mystic performs the ritual, in this case the daily prayer, and/or operates
on the linguistic, manipulative level in order to gain access to the upper
realms. In this way, knowledge of the divine prophecy is reached with the
help of language as we see below in Togarmi's interpretation of prophecy.
In contrast to this purely linguistic ritual, which is based on Eleazar' s
interpretation of the Merkavah as the object in meditation during the actual
prayer and on the pronunciation of the words as a chariot for the divine, in
Sha'arei 'Orah the actual performance of the Mitzwah is decisive. One

43 Cf. the passage in Shulhan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah § 285, 4: m' .-iV? fin -pV? kxtod
nrmx nnty nrnnn 'Tins anajn V'tid db> Knonna "bu" -o /'nVox bu -\nw2" ~\w\ nntan "?s it
.n"irr q© invftw

44 Cf. also Israel Saruq's elaboration on that Gematria in Limmudei 'Azilut, Munkacz
1897, p. 30, c-d; cf. the corrections in Naphtali Baharach's 'Emeq haMelech, Amsterdam
1649, p. 173d.

45 For other examples of the influence of Eleazar of Worms on Gikatilla, see S. Blick-
stein, Between Philosophy and Mysticism. PhD Thesis Jewish Theological Seminary of
America, 1984, pp. 93-96.

46 See our elaborations on Sha'arei 'Orah I: 76-77 in "Status of the Text".

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

gets the impression that during his later period Gikatilla returns to this
original emphasis on the actual performance of the ritual. 47

Another example for the centrality of the letters mm as crucial for the
mystical path, we find in the later period of Gikatilla, in Sha'ar haNiqqud,
'Arzei Levanon, Venice 1601, 38a:

(9) The letters of the name YHWH, blessed be He, are all intellectual, not sensuous let-
ters, and they refer to the matter of creation and existence, and [they vitalize] every entity
in the universe. This is the secret meaning [of the verse] "while you who cleave to the
Lord your God are all alive today" (Dtn. 4: 4), namely that those who cleave to the letters
of the Tetragrammaton exist and live forever, by virtue of the secret of the verse, "I am
the Lord I do not change [and you the sons of Jacob will not cease to be]" (Mai. 3: 10) 48

i
Here, the letters of the Tetragrammaton are crucial for the mystical path,

because they induce union between the human and the divine. 49 The in-
struction to cleave to the letters is straightforward and refers to a purely
intellectual activity 50 as in Abraham Abulafia's statement: "Whoever
cleaves to the Name cleaves to God". 51 The explanation for the divine let-
ters as the Merkavah is given in the subsequent line by Gikatilla in Sha 'ar
haNiqqud:

( 10) And you, sons of Jacob, are not perfect instruments if you do not concentrate on the
letters of YHWH, blessed be He, which are called Hashmal, for they are in no way sen-
sual or physical, but are concealed when they are prevented from being pronounced [out
loud].

The identification of Ma'aseh Merkavah 52 with occupation with the divine
names was made possible only at the beginning of the 13th century. 53

' Cf. our passage on pronunciation and ritual in "Status of the Text".
4S Cf. M. Idel, Absorbing Perfections, p. 303.

Cf. M. Idel, Language, Torah, and Hermeneutics, p. 109.

Cf. M. Idel, Enchanted Chains. Techniques and Rituals in Jewish Mysticism, Los
Angeles 2005, p. 108.

As did the patriarchs, according to Hayyei ha'Olam haBa', Ms Oxford-Bodleiana
1582, foh 21b.

Cf. also Gikatilla: rmti?nn nxy o mawna nwn 1 ? jrnio m"7»» noD nia:nan mifn o nasai
mmn a"?i:>, (And this is true as the comprehension of several good degrees of the
Merkavoi is to have [deep] thoughts, as this is the essence of the achievements, which are
all [in] degrees [Ma'aloi]) cf. A. Farber, "A New Fragment from the Introduction by Jo-
seph Gikatilla to Ginnat 'Egoz", Jerusahm Studies in Jewish Thought 1 (1981), p. 175
(Hebrew). Compare also Gikatilla's idea on the correspondence between human limbs
and their function in "purifying" body and soul, in the introduction to Sha'arei 'Orah:
Here, in Gikatilla's later period, the human limb just reflects the form, which is realized
through human action. The mind can apprehend the idea of the "divine structure" hinted
at by the human limb, but the human form creates only a signpost of memory and moves
the reader from the linguistic to the ontological level. In the continuation of those lines
the purification of the human limbs attracts the divine powers and the human act exercis-

2. J Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Ginnat 'Egoz and Sha'ar haNiqqud

Another example from Sha'ar haNiqqud on the vocalization points to
the true Merkavah and the manipulation of letters, mmn (synthesis, com-
bination), as the way to "inner wisdom", we find on p. 34b:

(1 1) The [vocalization] points used in grammatical declensions are also indicative of the
specific Merkavot [lit. combinations], and primarily all vowel points testify to all the
simple degrees, but now, pay attention and concentrate. Know that there is among all
higher and lower beings no simple thing without combination (niimn) except the Name,
blessed be He, which is the one pure simple thing, which has no multiplicity at all. How-
ever, all the other created beings, even the higher separate intellects, who are called an-
gels - there is not one among them who is simple without any multiplicity. Although the
philosophers called them angels, separate intellects and separate forms, despite their be-
ing separate from our physical substance ("imn), they possess inner, simple, delicate, in-
tellectual, higher and simpler substance. This substance [materia] is not at all similar to
our [physical] substance; nevertheless they do possess a certain kind of interior and sim-
ple substance.

The return to the one, single root of all knowledge, the Tetragrammaton,
signifies the return to the simple, archaic form without its becoming corpo-
real in our mind and world. In a polemic move against the philosophers, 54
Gikatilla defines the angels as part of the intellectual world, being radically
different from our material realm. Only by a return to this pi DWD 'B'jQ imn
^v^v ll 7DW (secret, simple, subtle, intellectual, supernal matter) which is
approachable only in the atoms of language, can the mystic create the
Merkavah for the divine.

Among the sources for such a development were the masters of the
Ashkenazi Pietists. In the Commentary on the Havdala of R. 'Akiva we
read:

es a theurgic effect on the high. This "literary theory" includes the recent trend in herme-
neutical theory that texts become human (compare the Romantic theory of Schleierma-
cher) and human beings are textual (Derrida). On the influential contemporary version of
this contrast, esp. as it appears in Harold Bloom and Paul de Man, see D. Dawson, Liter-
ary Theory, Minneapolis 1995. See also the comparison of a written speech to a living
body in Plato's Phaedrus 264c and the relevant paragraph in our chapter on the "Status
of the Text".

53 On Abulafia and the "work of the chariot", with the special emphasis on Hebrew
and R. Natan, his student, see now M. Idel, Absorbing Perfections, p. 363. Recently A.
Afterman has examined this issue again in the context of prayer and ritual, cf. his article,
"Ma'aseh Merkava in Rabbinic Literature: Prayer and Envisioning the Chariot", Kabba-
lah. Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 13 (2005), pp. 249-269 (Hebrew). Cf.
also Gikatilla's remarks on the letters as the limbs of the Merkavah in Sha'ar haNiqqud,
p. 38b.

54 Cf. H. Lachter, "Kabbalah, Philosophy, and the Jewish-Christian Debate: Reconsid-
ering the Early Works of Joseph Gikatilla", Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy
16.1 (2008), pp. 1-58.

2 Tzemfei 'Otiyyot

(12) And 1 the writer have saved my life by [heeding] these warnings. I extracted from
the account of the chariot, from the complete books that I found, which included the
Name written on the outside of the mezuzah and its decipherment: KWZW BMWKSW
KWZW - its meaning as known to the men instructed in the secret lore, the masters of
knowledge, is: YHWH 'LHYNW YHWH. The Yod is exchanged for a Kaph and so on.
This is the explanation [of the permutated letters] and this process is known as Ma'aseh
Merkavah. 55

However, a very similar text is found in the Hekhalot literature (though
unfortunately only in the New York manuscript and the "Sondergut"), re-
ferring to ancient sources for such an occupation. In § 513 of Schafer's
Synopsis we find:

mow 'znio xsv xini mo iodim3 im mm -m nnran ■'-firmty xim .nrms ymxi mtra Du>n inn
.lrm;^ Vm un s^pK mm nw 'd vmi^D ra^nm msa era
This is the 14 letter Name which is written on the back of the mezuzah NGD [corre-
sponding to] WHYH - KWZW BMKSZ is SWDW [His secret]. And He appears in 14
ways in details and in the calculation of His totalities, "for the Name YHWH I proclaim,
give glory to our God" (Dtn. 32: 3).

Schafer has drawn our attention to the misspelling in N8128, which turns
the second inn into mo. This passage points according to Schafer to a mis-
understanding of the scribe in the manuscript. 56 The origin of this secret is
found in Dtn. 6: 4 57 and a Temurah according to the Tetragrammaton (cf.
also Pinot haMerkavah where the same idea appears). In the introduction
to this kryptogrammaton in MH 58 § 1 and 2, 59 which says: n:n~i& ntt>ra nn
(and this is Ma 'aseh Merkavah), 60 we see the clear reference to the Merka-
vah.

Cf. Ms Vatican 228, lOOb-lOla; cf. M. Idel, Language, Torah, and Hermeneutics,
p. 50. See also Idel's citation from Jacob Anatoli. On this text, see also G. Scholem,
"Havdala de-Rabbi 'Aqiva: A Source for the Tradition of Jewish Magic during the Geon-
ic Period", Tarbiz 50 (1980/1), pp. 243-281 (Hebrew). Cf. also M. D. Swartz, "Magical
Piety in Ancient and Medieval Judaism", in eds. M. Meyer and P. Mirecki, Ancient Mag-
ic and Ritual Power, Leiden 1995, p. 179.

Cf. K. Herrmann, "Die Gottesnamen itid and ysta in der Hekhalot-Literatur",
Frankfurter Judaistische Beitrdge 16 (1988), p. 79. Herrmann refers to the magical con-
text of this passage and its connection with the syncretistic-magic background of Shi' ur
Qomah.

57 Cf. Y. Trachtenberg, Jewish Magic and Superstition, Philadelphia 2004, p. 92; and
K. Herrmann, "Die Gottesnamen iro and posa in der Hekhalot-Literatur", pp. 79-80f.

58 Cf. K. Herrmann, Massekhet Hekhalot. Traktat von den himmlischen Paldsten, Tu-
bingen 1994, pp. 126, 129,215-2161'.

59 A parallel to MR §693, O 153 1 .

Cf. K. Herrmann, "Die Gottesnamen ifD and ys^ti in der Hekhalot-Literatur",
Frankfurter Judaistische Beitrdge 16 (1988), p. 78.

2,1 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Ginnat 'Egozand Sha'ar haNiqqud

The Temurah 1T1D is also known as the 14 letter name 61 in Sefer Mitzwot
Gedolot:

.fro ToDim V'ra - 'n irVx 1 ? 'n nvw nrnisn ma n"?8a ^nnan aw
The Name which in alphabetic order replaces the letters of YHWH, our God, by the let-
ters following the words YHWH 'Eloheinu ('LHYNW) YHWH (Dtn. 6: 4) - KWZW
BMWKSZ KWZW.

We should note that 1T1D also played an important role in the Christian in-
terpretation of kabbalah, for example in Reuchlin's De arte cabalistica,
adduced as an illustration of Cematria. 62 The further development of those
secrets leads in Gikatilla's work to new revelations and continues indefi-
nitely. We observe here how a certain theory is put into the text, which
leads to an independent ongoing process within the initiated reader. This
open hermeneutical system (rp^D n"73p, general kabbalah) offers the keys
that can be applied to the biblical text and open the way (n^apn 1 Dn7, ways
of kabbalah) to both a personal mystical experience and a general under-
standing of the divine and the intellectual world, reached by the intellectu-
al activity 64 of the mystic (Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 33):

(13) Behold a great and honourable secret, one of the secrets of the Torah, which ex-
plains to you the method by which you will be able to enter into several rooms now
closed by gates, [opened for] you when you know the secret of the unique Name that ex-
tends its powers over everything. Regarding all these matters I truly need to initiate you
further, so that by this method you will enter into intellectual investigation 65 (nrnpn
n^OttO: YHWH which equals 26 (l"D), spelled as Kaph Waw [Kaph Waw [the names of
the letters for the numerical value of 26 spelled out in their plene spelling] = 86) which
equals 'Elohim (86).

61 Cf. I. Ta-Shma, Ha-Nigle She-Banistar. The Halachic Residue in the Zohar, Tel
Aviv 1995, p. 23 (Hebrew); and I. Felix, Theurgy, Magic and Mysticism in the Kabbalah
of R. Joseph of Shushan, PhD Thesis Hebrew University Jerusalem 2005, p. 277 (He-
brew) with the relevant footnotes.

Cf. eds. G. Busi and S. Campanini, Johannes Reuchlin: L'Arte Cabbalistica (De
arte cabalistica), Venice 1995, p. 212.

63 Cf. Abraham Abulafia, Sheva' Netivot ha Torah, ed. A. Jellinek, Philosophic und
Kabbala. Erstes Heft, Leipzig 1854, pp. 3-4; cf. M. Idel, Language, Torah, and Herme-
neutics, p. 101. On the idea of the Torah as the names of the Holy One, Blessed be He,
see ibid., pp. 102-103.

64 Cf. M. Idel, Language, Torah, and Hermeneutics, pp. 31-34, explains the intellec-
tual interpretation of the mystical experience in Togarmi and Abulafia with the help of
the numerical value 951, 413 and 246. The equivalence of Torah, the divinity and the
separate intellects and even the Active Intellect qualifies this encounter as purely intel-
lectual. Cf. Ginnat 'Egoz, pp. 220-221.

This term usually describes the philosophical investigation in opposition to the
"way of faith"; here however, it is used for the linguistic manipulation.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Within the early years, however (1265-70) the Sod is still a secret for
Gikatilla and the keys are not given away easily, as not many are able to
decipher the writings of Togarmi. Only in Gikatilla's later period is the
Sod no longer a secret but a rhetorical means of creating a way to teach the
initiated the "open knowledge". 66 In his early writings the inner connection
between the semantic part of the word and its numerical value supplies the
code for the proper understanding of the text and he reveals the basic truth
of reality in language as static, (Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 41) for example:

(14) With regard to the existent Name, which never changes, YHWH is His Name: This
is the unique Name to call His blessed true being. And just as He the blessed never
changes, so His Name never changes, as it is said: "For I am YHWH, I have not
changed." (Mai. 3: 6)

According to Gikatilla there are two ways of initiation to the secret
knowledge. After demonstrating the gematrical value of 86 as the basic for
all realms of human life - Torah, Nature and God and the central function
of the first cognomen of the ineffable name in creation 67 = nodh = DTV7N
vim - 1 'ud (God = the throne - cognomen - nature) - he presents them on
the same ontological level due to their identical numerical value {Ginnat
'Egoz p. 32): 68

(15) Know that there are two methods by which the unique, great, and awesome Name
can be be interpreted directly and systematically to explain the secret of His divinity, and
through them I will enlighten you. The first method lies in the sign of its letters YHWH,
whose obligatory (necessary) sum is 26. The second method is the secret of the names of
the letters, as the unique Name is called by them, and according to this method I will ini-
tiate you [to his knowledge], namely Yod, He, Waw, He, whose sum is 45. Behold, this is

Cf. M. Idel, "On the Meanings of the Term Kabbalah - Between the Ecstatic and
the Sefirotic Schools of Kabbalah in the 13th Century", Pe'amim 93 (2002), p. 66 (He-
brew).

Cf. Safer Razi'eL haMal'ach, Jerusalem 1972, p. 5, also with the Gematria WTftv. =
!?3DP! = 86. On this assumption Deus = Natura in Neoplatonic thought, see S. Gersh, From
lamblichus to Eriugena: An Investigation of the Prehistory and Evolution of the Pseudo-
Dionysian Tradition, Leiden 1978, pp. 157-180, esp. p. 162; cf. also M. Idel, "Deus Sive
Natura - The Metamorphosis of a Dictum from Maimonides to Spinoza", in eds. R. S.
Cohen and H. Levine, Maimonides and the Sciences, Dordrecht/Boston/London 2000, pp.
87-1 10; and E. R. Wolfson, "Beyond Good and Evil: Hypernomianism, Transmorality,
and Kabbalistic Ethics", in eds. G. W. Barnard and J. J. Kripal, Crossing Boundaries.
Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism, New York 2002, p. 122, who refers to this
numerology in Sha'arei 'Orah where the "numerical equivalence conveys the philosoph-
ical idea that nature is dependent on boundary and delimitation, which are associated
with the attribute of judgment. When the latter is contained entirely in mercy, nature is
transcended, for there is no order or structure". In the passage mentioned above, Gikatilla
bases his exegetical techniques exactly on such analogous structure between text, cosmos
and divine realm.
68 Cf. also p. 34.

2.1 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Ginnat 'Egoz and Sha'ar haNiqqud

the secret of the unique Name, which has by this method two sums (Si-man), which I
arouse [initiate] you to, one sum (Siman) is 26 and the second sum (Siman) is 45.

Since the initiation of the reader is based on numerical values, the ways of
instruction are not debatable (man, determined, obligatory) 69 but clear and
fixed. Gikatilla is developing his theological system on the two D'ffi'O
(signs) 26 and 45 (which can turn into 86), the ineffable Name and its first
cognomen. Both methods are purely mathematical and guarantee the divine
revelation at the end of the way. I want to pay attention to the three central
issues in this passage: p'O (sign), *]T7 (way) and ~ni5?» (awake/initiate),
which are delivered by the author (^n). The whole enterprise takes place in
a (astronomical 7 ) system/order (rD~il?Q), 71 which equals the divine name
with its numerical value. With the help of this numerological equation the
astronomic and linguistic systems can be put in analogous correspondence
and the first becomes available through the second. The name is the num-

69 Cf. one of the seven types of calculation as Trail lawn (determined/obligatory
sum). See I. Ta-Shma, "Introduction", pp. 19-21; cf. also the little tractate law 'dot,
printed in Sefer 'Arzei Levanon, Venice 1601, fol. 47b: DDT? rra ,1»W 'nwirr?! "n ''NT?
yawn ."rran inwn nn i?ni on nuawn td nsnw :n»xn -\-\i ?s wrpn maw ■'otisi Tawnn
rtww unwn 3'd.n "man witd .snnn yawn ,"3mpn lawn ."-iddb yawn, ,, aw iawn ,"sm
.101WDD (To the fearers of the Name and the - Hoshvei Shmo. Open your hearts to the cal-
culations and permutations of the divine names according to the way of truth. There are
seven types of calculations and they are: determined calculation, combinatory calcula-
tion, name calculation, numerical calculation, previous calculation, quarterly calculation,
determined interpretation Aleph (1), Beit (2), Gimel (3), whose sum is six in a simple
way). See also D. Abrams, "From Germany to Spain: Numerology as a Mystical Tech-
nique", Journal of Jewish Studies 47 (1996), p. 98; and Abrams' reference to Schochet
(note 64); see also our discussion of Ginnat 'Egoz, pp. 272-273, which contains many
passages with the root ma. Cf. also Togarmi in his Perush le Sefer Yetzirah, Ms Paris
770: 710 xim n"V? V'n -pan? -pixi rwpbDn? minn wtn ?"n pi rhipi iroia yw xinw nt sm
mim nmsn rrnn N7w itd nrn nr pai7i -nn7i rrtan n'WNin pi jvwk-i n^snn id nwv 1 ?
.srrpn mpin awn no Ninw D'innn n7inoD N7N n7">7nn (Know that this is an obligato-
ry/necessary issue in kabbalah and like this the letters Beit and Lamed found at the be-
ginning of the Torah and its end. One must turn b"l into l"b [= 32, meaning "do not" and
"heart" respectively]; this is the secret of how to turn from the beginning to the end and
from the end to the beginning, and to connect, to combine one with the other in a way
that there will be no seperations in the reversion of the rotation ... which is the secret of
the Name in its known vocalization.)

70 The term has in medieval Hebrew the meaning of an astronomical consteltation, see
part two of Ginnat 'Egoz, which is an excellent example for describing the supernal or-
ders in linguistic and ritualistic terms; cf. the reference by M. Idel, "On some Forms of
Order in Kabbalah", Da' at 50-52 (2003), p. LVII; and idem, "The Zodiac in Jewish
Thought", in ed. I. Fishof, Written in the Stars. Art and Symbolism of the Zodiac, Jerusa-
lem 2001, pp. 20-27.

71 Cf. the use of this term in Abraham Ibn Ezra in connection with Pythagorean issues,
cf. Y. T. Langermann, "Studies in Medieval Hebrew Pythagoreanism", Micrologus 9
(2001), p. 230.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

ber. However, we observe a certain climax within the description. Whereas
the first way is simply a sign, the second one, the atomization of the word,
signifies a secret, which is expressed in two signs or ways to initiate the
exegetical process.

The use of ]W0 (sign, value) as ]Mum (calculation, sum) has ancient
roots and the masters of Hasidei Ashkenaz even referred in their usage to
Greek sources. 7 In the Mahzor Vitri we find a tradition recorded in the
name of Eleazar of Worms, stating that concerning the secrets of the pray-
ers:

(16) Gematria is [numerical] interpretation, in Greek called Notarikon, so that a person
can know how to calculate the numerical values (Simanim) of the letters till infinity [lit.:
until the mouth can no longer speak], as the Greeks used to do and as was explained in
Rav Saadia Gaon's commentary on Sefer Yetzirah, and the gentile nations call it "dust"
I'Avaq, for a golem]. 73

In this passage Gematria is clearly indicated as a mystical technique, cul-
minating in a form of ecstasy as indicated by the "until the point where one
is no longer able to speak". By referring to the Greek origin the author
achieves a certain authority for his sources with the help of turning this
method into an arcane discipline. One should note that Gersh 74 has drawn
our attention to sources older than Theodorus of Asine for such linguistic
techniques. He writes:

See our elaborations on Iamblichus and the function of mathematics as a protreptic
step before meditation.

73 Cf. Mahzor Vitri, ed. S. Horowitz, Nuremberg 1823, p. 519; cf. also I. Ta-Shma,
"Introduction", p. 20, n. 24; and D. Abrams, "From Germany to Spain: Numerology as a
Mystical Technique", Journal of Jewish Studies 47 (1996), p. 93, who points to the early
development of this mystical technique. On the "dust" for the creation of a golem, see M.
Idel, Golem. Jewish Magical and Mystical Traditions on the Artificial Anthropoid, Alba-
ny 1990, p. 122.

74 Cf. Ch. Butler, Number Symbolism, London 1970, pp. 1-21; S. Gersh, "The Lin-
guistic Doctrine of Theodorus of Asine and its Background in Philosophy and Magic",
Excursus in idem, From Iamblichus to Eriugena: An Investigation of the Prehistory and
Evolution of the Pseudo-Dionysian Tradition, Leiden 1978, pp. 289-304; cf. S. Sam-
bursky, "On the Origin and Significance of the Term Gematria", Journal of Jewish Stud-
ies 29 (1978), pp. 35-38 (Hebrew original in Tarbiz 45 [1976], pp. 268-271); more re-
cently S. Lieberman, "A Mesopotamian Background for the so-called Aggadic Measures
of Biblical Hermeneutics?", Hebrew Union College Annual 58 (1987), pp. 157-225 (esp.
170-174). It should also be borne in mind that the roots for Greek Pythagorean mathe-
matics and astronomy were found in Mesopotamia and were studied there by Pythagoras,
see B. L. van der Waerden, "Arithmetik der Pythagoreer", Mathematische Annalen 120
(1947-1949), p. 132; cf. also W. K. C. Guthrie, History of Greek Philosophy, Cambridge
1967, 1:218.

2.1 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Ginnat 'Egoz and Sha'ar haNiqqud

The various methods used by Theodorus in constructing his cosmological system can be
paralleled by earlier and contemporary discussion of the nature of language and especial-
ly by the widespread speculation concerning the actual components of language (i.e. the
phonetic, graphic, and arithmetical properties of letters and syllables). Perhaps the most
remarkable feature of this material is the way in which magical and philosophical ideas
are blended. At one extreme language is treated entirely in terms of its magical associa-
tions, for example in connection with the pseudo-mathematical calculation of demonic
synonyms for use in magical ritual. At the other extreme language becomes a purely
philosophical conception, for example in the case of the parallelism established by cer-
tain ancient authorities between the duality of vowel and consonant and that of form and
matter. Most frequently, however, magical and philosophical ideas are present to varying
degrees within the same general conception. 75

I am inclined to assume for Gikatilla a similar system moving between
philosophical analogy 76 and magical application of such knowledge. Espe-
cially his "microscopic" move to the vowels of the Hebrew language re-
minds us of an enigmatic passage in Nicomachus of Gerasa (according to
H. Lewy actually from Proclus 77 ) dealing with a theory of the analogous
relation between the vowels and the consonants in a theurgic-magical con-
text using phonetic sounds:

And the tones of the seven spheres, each of which by nature produces a particular sound,
are the sources of the nomenclature of the vowels. These are described as unpronouncea-
ble in themselves and in all their combinations by wise men since the tone in this context
performs a role analogous to that of the monad in number, the point in geometry, and the
letter in grammar. However, when they are combined with the materiality of the conso-
nants just as soul is combined with body and harmony with strings - the one producing a
creature, the other notes and melodies - they have potencies which are efficacious and
perfective of divine things. Thus whenever the theurgists are conducting such acts of
worship they make invocation symbolically with hissing, clucking, and inarticulate and
discordant sounds.

Nicomachus' theory seems to be based on the notions that the seven vow-
els obtain their names from the planetary spheres and that this fact is the
justification for the use of phonetic sounds in theurgy. 78 An axiom for such
a theory is the Pythagorean idea of harmony of the spheres, like e.g. in

75 Cf. S. Gersh, From Iamblichus to Eriugena: An Investigation of the Prehistory and
Evolution of the Pseudo-Dionysian Tradition, Leiden 1978, p. 295.

76 Cf. M. Mottolese, Analogy in Midrash and Kabbalah. Interpretive Projections on
the Sanctuary and Ritual, Los Angeles 2007.

77 Cf. H. Lewy, Chaldean Oracles and Theurgy, Cairo 1956, p. 250. See on this pas-
sage S. Gersh, From Iamblichus to Eriugena: An Investigation of the Prehistory and Evo-
lution of the Pseudo-Dionysian Tradition, Leiden 1978, p. 295.

78 The appearance of the term "oi 9eovpyoi" may suppose that Proclus is responsible
for their appearance in this text; cf. H. Lewy, Chaldean Oracles and Theurgy, Cairo
1956, p. 250.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Proclus' In Remp. 11.65. J 2ff. This theory had already been brought into
connection with concepts of purification by pre-Socratic Pythagorean phi-
losophers. 80 In reconstructing the practical meaning of number symbolism,
they stressed the importance of ordered numbers, an ordered cosmos for
contemplation. The central notions in the Pythagorean way of life were
deemed to be contemplation (theoria), the order found in the arrangement
of the universe (kosmos), and purification {katharsis). The logic of the Py-
thagorean life style seems to have been based on the conviction that by
contemplating the order of the universe and by arranging one's life in ac-
cordance with that order, the novice may progressively purify himself until
he escapes the cycle of rebirth and attains immortality. 81 In kabbalistic
writings such as those of Gikatilla's early period, the manipulation of
numbers according to the Gematriot of words seems to be a short cut to
purification and contemplation, which usually take place during a one's
lifetime and not only after one's death. What usually takes a whole lifetime
can be reached within a relatively short time with the help of such linguis-
tic techniques.

Daniel Abrams has observed in his excellent investigation into numerology
and its transition 82 from Germany to Spain 83 that while in Ashkenaz the
preoccupation with the numerical value of words and letters was mainly
focused on prayer, the Spanish kabbalists expanded the techniques towards
the more mystical subject of the divine name. In this process the numerical
calculation of the prayers that captivated Rabbi Judah the Pious became
marginal to the theosophic kabbalah in Spain. The commentaries on pray-
ers such as those of R. Azriel of Gerona, R. Moshe de Leon and later, R.
David ben Judah heHasid concentrate on the theosophic and theurgic as-
pect of prayer based on a sefirotic orientation. I would like to suggest that
the deep interest in the divine names of Spanish kabbalists such as Gikatil-
la may be regarded as a "return" to the Greek sources and traditions of
"name theology" as exemplified in writings of Neoplatonic authors such as

79 Cf. G. Shaw, Theurgy and the Soul, Pennsylvania 1995, pp. 186-187.

80 Cf. J. E. Raven and G. S. Kirk & M. Schofield, The Presocratic Philosophers,
Cambridge 1983, pp. 227-187.

81 Cf. A. Yarbro Collins, "Numerical Symbolism in Jewish and Early Christian Apoc-
alyptic Literature", ANRW II. 21.2, Ber! ; n/New York 1984, p. 1253.

2 On R. Menahem as a possible transmitter between Ashkenaz and Spain, see also D.
Abrams, "The Literary Emergence of Esotericism in German Pietism", Shofar 12 (1994),
pp. 67-85, esp. 73. This article very clearly delineates the transition from purely oral
tradition in German Pietism to written transmission as exemplified in the writings of R.
Eleazar of Worms and his students.

83 Cf. D. Abrams, "From Germany to Spain: Numerology as a Mystical Technique",
Journal of Jewish Studies 47 (1996), pp. 85-101, esp. p. 98.

2.1 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Ginnat 'Egoz and Sha'ar haNiqqud

Iamblichus, Proclus and Nicomachus 84 on the one hand and ancient Jewish
traditions on the other. Basic ideas of these ancient traditions are preserved
in the writings of Origen, the Hekhalot literature and other magical treatis-
es. In particular, Origen's elaborations in Contra Celsum 1: 24 and 1:
25, 86 where he connects the "qualitas vocum" with the inner power, reveal
the profound influence of acoustic techniques in ancient writings, and are
highly interesting for our studies. The actual effect of the words recalls the
third part of Gikatilla's Ginnat 'Egoz and the pivotal task of the vowels in
the mystical process. We should also compare these passages to those in
the Chaldean Oracles* 1 and Iamblichus in De Mysteriis 259.4ff (III, 28; V,
26; VII, 5). 88 These passages stress the necessity that the magic formula
have to be used in their original language (with a clear reference to oriental

84 Cf. the material presented by S. Gersh in his Excursus of From iamblichus to
Eriugena: An Investigation of the Prehistory and Evolution of the Pseudo-Dionysian
Tradition, Leiden 1978; cf. also K. Barry, The Greek Qabbalah. Alphabetic Mysticism
and Numerology in the Ancient World, York Beach 1999.

85 Cf. M. Idel, Absorbing Perfections, pp. 247-248.

86 On the problem of translating Hebrew texts, esp. names with a magic connotation
into Latin within the Christian Kabbalah, see A. Kilcher, "Hebraische Sprachmetaphysik
und lateinische Kabbalistik. Knorr und das metaphysische Problem der Ubersetzung in
der christlichen Kabbala", Morgen-Glantz 8 (1998), p. 80. On the same problem regard-
ing the difficulty of translating Hebrew into Latin, see also Johannes Reuchlin, De verbo
mirificio, in eds. W. W. Ehlers, H. G. Roloff, P. Schafer, Sdmtliche Werke Bd. I, Stutt-
gart 1996, pp. 198-199. Reuchlin refers explicitly to Origen in this context and repeats
the idea of "... non esse Hebrea lingua in aliam transferenda, sed in suis ipsis characteri-
bus conservanda". It is interesting that Reuchlin refers here to the characteristics of the
language and not the letters, thereby stressing the interest in the vowels and other diacrit-
ical signs. See also Reuchlin's reference to Pico in A. Kilcher, p. 82. On the Pythagorean
influence on Reuchlin in his interpretation of mystical texts, see M. Idel, "Introduction to
the Bison Book Edition", in eds. M. and S. Goodman, Johann Reuchlin. On the Art of
Kabbalah. De Arte Cabalistica, Lincoln/London 1993, pp. xi-xvi.

87 Cf. E. R. Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational, Berkeley/Los Angeles/London
1951, p. 293: According to the Chaldean Oracles the dvorxaxa pdppapa lose their effica-
cy if translated into Greek. In Gnosticism however, the soul's salvation, its ascent and
descent, is achieved by chanting the nomina barbara; cf. B. Pearson, "Theurgic Tenden-
cies in Gnosticism and Iamblichus' Conception of Theurgy", in eds. R. T. Wallis and J.
Bregman, Gnosticism and Neoplatonism, Norfolk 1992, p.253-275. See also Pico della
Mirandola on the nomina barbara in his Conclusiones sive Theses DCCCC, ed. v. B.
Kieszkowski, Geneve 1973, p. 80: Non signifivicative voces plus possunt in magia quam
significative quelibet vox virtutem habet in magia in quantum dei voce formatur, quia
illud in quo primum magicam excercet natura vox est dei.

88 Cf. C. Zintzen, "Die Wertung von Mystik und Magie in der neuplatonischen Philo-
sophic", Rheinisches Museum fur Philologie N.F. 108 (1965), pp. 71-100. On an interest-
ing parallel between magic theories in the Zohar and Iamblichus' De Mysteriis, with re-
gard to a common source, see Y. Liebes, "Zohar and Iamblichus", Journal for the Study
of Religions and Ideologies 6.18 (2007), pp. 95-100.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

languages in Iamblichus and the Hebrew examples in Origen) as suggest-
ed in similar ancient Hebrew sources. This shift "ad fontes", fits very well
into the Renaissance ideas of the 13th century and the use of arcanizing
methods. Another effect of the idea of Hebrew as the divine magical lan-
guage is to be seen in widespread phenomenon of the "untranslatability" of
kabbalistic texts in the opera magna of Pico Delia Mirandola, Johannes
Reuchlin, Claude Duret, Christian Knorr von Rosenroth and Johann Pisto-
rius from the Italian Renaissance period onward. 91

2.2 Numbers as Fixed Order for Infinite Creativity

Chaos as sacred order, as opposed to order, remains a creative challenge, a
source of possibility and vitality over order and the sacred. 92

"Order", esp. hierarchical order, 94 was an important issue in kabbalis-
tic writing. Mary Douglas 95 has shown how rituals of purity and impurity
create order in human life and in social relationships. Numerical symbol-
ism is usually part of the activity of discovering order in environment and
experience. It expresses convictions about reality, order in time (feasts, the
calendar) and space (macrocosmos-microcosmos). Appreciation of cosmic
order expressed in numerical terms is characteristic of the Pythagorean
tradition, but it occurs in apocalyptic texts as well. 96 By contrast with

Cf. S. Gersh, From Iamblichus to Eriugena: An Investigation of the Prehistory and
Evolution of the Pseudo-Dionysian Tradition, Leiden 1978, p. 304; cf. on this issue also
S. Liebermann, "A Mesopotamian Background for the So-Called Aggadic 'Measures' of
Biblical Hermeneutics", HUCA 58 (1987), pp. 157-225, on the oriental sources of Ag-
gadic hermeneutics. Regarding definitions and taxonomies of ancient magic, see eds. M.
Meyer and P. Mirecki, Ancient Magic and Ritual Power, Leiden 1 995, and their recent
volume, Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World, Leiden 2002.

Cf. M. Idel, Absorbing Perfections, Introduction and Chap. 5 in this book.

Cf. A. Kilcher, "Hebraische Sprachmetaphysik und lateinische Kabbalistik. Knorr
und das metaphysische Problem der Ubersetzung in der christlichen Kabbala", Morgen-
Glantz 8 (1998), pp. 63-108, esp. 69-87.

Cf. J. Z. Smith, Map is not Territory. Studies in the History of Religions, Leiden
1978, p. 97.

Cf. M. Foucault, Les mots and les chases: une archeologie des scienes humaines,
Paris 1966. Cf. also M. Idel, "On Sone Forms of Order in Kabbalah", Da'at 50-52
(2003), pp. XXXI-LVIII.

Cf. on hierarchical order in Neoplatonic thought, S. Gersh, From Iamblichus to
Eriugena: An Investigation of the Prehistory and Evolution of the Pseudo-Dionysian
Tradition, Leiden 1978, pp. 141-181.

93 Cf. M. Douglas, Purity and Danger, London 1966, pp. 2-3.

Cf. A. Yarbro Collins, "Numerical Symbolism in Jewish and Early Christian Apoc-
alyptic Literature", ANRW II. 21.2, Berlin/New York 1984, pp. 1221-1287, esp. 1224.

2.2 Numbers as Fixed Order for Infinite Creativity

apocalyptic literature, where numbers are used to induce revelatory experi-
ences, 97 Gikatilla 98 uses in Ginnat 'Egoz the numerical value in order to
reach revelatory knowledge inherent in letters and vocalization signs. The
search for both the divine and the worldly order in an analogous way and
their mutual correspondence, exemplified as mythopoesis, 99 describes best
the impulse many mystics followed. 100 It is also interesting to compare the
Greek notion of order, esp. that of the Pythagoreans, 101 with kabbalistic
notions. Cosmos unites the notions of order, arrangement or structural per-
fection with that of beauty, and the cosmic element in both ties the philos-
opher to the divine. 102 All nature is akin and the better one knows some-
thing the more one is assimilated to it. We could compare this with the
transformative effect of the linguistic techniques in Ginnat 'Egoz on the
initiated. Hence to seek for a better understanding of the structure of the
divine cosmos, best represented in the everlasting and perfect circular mo-
tion of the wheeling stars, is to realize and cultivate the divine element in
oneself. Gikatilla reminds the reader many times of the "correct" order
of the divine names and their hierarchical status within the linguistic-
ontological pyramid. This fixed system guarantees the cosmic and the
worldly order, being related both to the "intellectual" and the psychic order
of the mystic. The analogous, reciprocal correspondence between macro-
cosmic order and microcosmic linguistic order enables the mystic to exer-
cise a theurgic influence on the first order by manipulating the second
one. 104 In Ginnat 'Egoz we read continually that mn 1 is the primordial

97 Cf. ibid., p. 1249.

9 On the intrinsic connection between the lexicographical structure (esp. of Sha'arei
'Orah) and the idea of order, see A. Kilcher, "Lexikographische Konstruktion der Kabba-
la. Die Loci Communes cabbalistici der Kabbala Denudata" , Morgen-Glantz 7 (1997),
pp. 67-125.

99 Cf. M. Fishbane, "'The Holy One Sits and Roars': Mythopoesis and the Midrashic
Imagination", in ed. M. Fishbane, The Midrashic Imagination. Jewish Exegesis, Thought,
and History, Albany 1993, pp. 60-77; and the relevant paragraphs in M. Mottolese,
Analogy in Midrash and Kabbalah. Interpretive Projections on the Sanctuary and Ritual,
Los Angeles 2007.

100 Cf. ibid., pp. 14, 39,51, 63, 116, 129, 138, 141, 223,279, 370; and M. Idel, "On
Some Forms of Order in Kabbalah", Da'at 50-52 (2003), pp. XXXI-LVIII.

101 Pythagoras was traditionally supposed to have been the first to apply the name
"cosmos" to the world, in recognition of the order, which it displayed, Aet. II, 1, 1; cf. W.
K. C. Guthrie, History of Greek Philosophy, Cambridge 1967, 1 : 208.

102 Plato, Republic 500c and Tim. 47b-c.

103 Cf. W. K. C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, Cambridge 1967, 1: 206-
212; cf. also Aristotle on the limited and the unlimited in Pythagoreanism, Ethics 1106b
29.

104 Cf. also the unity between the order of divine number and the order of the gods in
Psellus. Cf. D. J. O'Meara, Pythagoras Revived: Mathematics and Philosophy in Late

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

name and precedes all the others, bearing the power and truths for all crea-
tion and its preservation. Working with numbers in linguistic processes
expresses two sides: dealing with a static, guaranteed truth on the one
hand, based on language, and certain dynamic linguistic techniques on the
other. Receiving the exegetical code enables the initiated to proceed fur-
ther with this technique and reveal deeper layers of this truth to him. Later
in his career, Gikatilla was more concerned with the interrelation between
the dynamic sefirotic realm and human action in the performance of the
commandments than with specific intellectual-linguistic correspondences.

A linguistic undertaking of this kind is based more on nouns than on verbs
and the semantic field is dominated by those divine names which are cru-
cial for the mystical exegesis. Togarmi's correlating system, which leads
finally to the grasping of the truth, is expressed in the following words
from the work mentioned above:

(17) From these [demonstrations] you will know - that in truth "the attribute of judgment
in the moon" (Midat haDin beYareah = 733) is equivalent to "soul on fire" {Nefesh
ba'Esh = 733), and this is the secret which appeared to Moses, peace be upon him, and it
is called Lebat 'Esh (733) . l05 This is why a person cannot advance (laGeshet = 733) be-

Antiquity, Oxford 1989, p. 84. See also the continuity of structure and the extra-
mathematical applicability of mathematical concepts, ibid., p. 85.

Cf. also Gikatilla's introduction to Ginnat 'Egoz; cf. A. Farber, "A New Fragment
from the Introduction by Joseph Gikatilla to Ginnat Egoz", Jerusalem Studies in Jewish
Thought 1 (1981), p. 167 and n. 3 (Hebrew); see also M. Idel, Abraham Abulafia's Works
and Doctrines, PhD Thesis Hebrew University Jerusalem 1976, pp. 194-195 (Hebrew),
where Idel points to the Gematria which appears in the writings of Ibn Latif, Gikatilla
and Abulafia as a device for the intellectual form of man and Torah together. It would be
highly interesting to compare this idea of "form" with medieval Platonism, where the
Holy Spirit represents the connection of matter and form (Boethius), based on two central
thoughts: first the idea that a single divine form gives rise by an emanation (as descent)
to the forms of created things and secondly the notion that this plurality of emanating
forms is one not of real forms but of images. The interpretation of Plato's Parmenides
provided the sources for interpretations such as that of Chalcidius, that there is one ar-
chetype and a plurality of sub-archetypes, leading to the assumption that the emanating
plurality consists, not of real forms but of their images only, and that pure forms function
as substrates owing their presence to a certain intelligible if not sensible matter. Cf. S.
Gersh, "Platonism-Neoplatonism-Aristotelianism. A Twelth-Century Metaphysical Sys-
tem and Its Sources", in eds. R. L. Benson and G. Constable with C. Lanham, Renais-
sance and Renewal in the Twelfth Century, Oxford 1982, pp. 512-534, esp. p. 518. See
also the elaborations on the Aristotelian notion of "form" in S. Pines, "God, the Divine
Glory, and the Angels according to a Second Century Theology", in ed. J. Dan, The Be-
ginnings of Jewish Mysticism in Medieval Europe, Jerusalem 1987, pp. 1-6 (Hebrew);
and M. Idel, "The Soul of Eloah. On the Divinity of the Soul in Ramban and his School",
in eds. S. Arzy et al., Life as Midrash. Perspectives in Jewish Psychology, Tel Aviv
2004, p. 352 (Hebrew).

2.2 Numbers as Fixed Order for Infinite Creativity

yond the beginning of thought, lest he be consumed by the great fire {ha'Esh haGedolah
= 359) who is Satan (Satan = 359) who stands on the right side of man to cause him to
sin. May the Lord in His mercy rescue us from him [Satan] and those like him, and one is
not permitted to write of these matters at length.

Togarmi bases his numerical exegesis on various constellations within the
different worlds which correspond analogously with each other. The condi-
tion for entering the revelatory process, which is itself a kind of catharsis
(soul in fire) is based on the number 733, cf. Num. 3: 2, Ps. 97: 2.' 06 In his
archaic style Togarmi describes the divine justice as a fire for the soul,
which finally enables the mystic to reach and enter the divine truth in
faith 107 (nra 1 ?, to reach, approach). The strict command not to write down
such a complicated process 108 refers to the danger implied in this kind of
exegesis. If the soul of the mystic remains at a low level he may be con-
sumed by a "great fire" (359) and awake the evil side (pitf, Satan - 359)
within his soul. We must ensure that the evil inclination is not connected
with external influences but is located in the soul herself. All processes
described here are inner psychic developments and inner divine corre-
spondences, which are described analogously, in order to signify the de-
pendence of the human psyche on the knowledge of the divine. If, howev-
er, the mystic has passed the initial stages in the journey of the intellect, he
can attain to higher stages for the wellbeing of his soul. We see here also
two stages 109 of the revelation brought about by linguistic procedures: first,
intellectual linguistic knowledge gained with the help of certain techniques
(and brought to perfection 110 ) and secondly a revelation for the soul con-
nected with intellectual knowledge" 1 attained by concentration on the di-

106 Cf. to the idea on fire as the essence, the first substance according to Pythagoras.

107 Cf. also Gikatilla's expression in his introduction to Ginnat 'Egoz: nifi?n rpnn p
rmaxn rwn 1 ? omisnan (The category of the comprehension of the initiated will be to
reach faith). Cf. A. Farber, "A New Fragment from the Introduction by Joseph Gikatilla
to Ginnat 'Egoz", Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 1 (1981), p. 169 (Hebrew).

108 Cf. this order to the strict, self-imposed ban of Judah the Pious on divulging his
esoteric lore. His student, Eleazar of Worms, testifies in several passages that he was
instructed not to transcribe the secrets, see D. Abrams, "The Literary Emergence of Eso-
tericism in German Pietism", Shofar 12 (1994), p. 68.

109 Cf. the remarks of Gikatilla mentioned above.

110 Cf. Gikatilla in Ginnat 'Egoz: nvwwiM thw w -px ,nronisi o 1 ?© 13PNW 'Bi (And
the one who is not perfect in the sensibilia, will never be perfect in the intelligibilia). Cf.
A. Farber, "A New Fragment from the Introduction by Joseph Gikatilla to Ginnat 'Egoz",
Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 1 (1981), p. 170 and n. 52 (Hebrew).

111 It seems to me that Abulafia is reversing here the Pythagorean order, where the in-
tellectual level is inferior to the intelligible order and the divine number (the order of the
gods). For Abulafia the "soul" is regarded as more exalted and more vital for the mystical
experience than is the case in other forms of mysticism in Late Antiquity, see D. J.
O'Meara, Pythagoras Revived, Oxford 1989, p. 90. However, the causal derivation from

2 Tzemfei 'Otiyyot

vine name. For Abulafia this is the state of cognitive perfection (in the
sense of Maimonides), in which the human intellect unites with the Active
Intellect and receives from it the overflowing of the divine. The "mathe-
matization" of the structure of reality, esp. in Iamblichus, was a useful tool
for Jewish mystics like Abulafia and Gikatilla for establishing a causal
connection between the different ontological and linguistic levels. The
mystic's ability to manipulate the structure of reality by means of linguis-
tic techniques, for example by Gematria, is based on axioms of this kind.
In accordance with this principle, Abulafia names in his treatise on the
seven paths of the Torah 112 the Wisdom of Letter Combination as the high-
est intellectual skill (nsia), as "wisdom of inner [secret] logic" (ynnn riEDn
vd^dh). This could also be described as a reversal of the Neoplatonic-
Pythagorean concept of the same kind, that our souls contain essential
numbers, images of intelligible forms, that pre-contain all the formal fea-
tures of mathematical numbers and from which we generate mathematical
numbers." 3 This idea of number might also be identified in Gikatilla's
elaborations. The divine numbers of the words reveal the divine numbers
in the mystic's soul and provide the condition for an intellectual union.

Gikatilla describes this process of intellection in Ginnat 'Egoz as fol-
lows (p. 26):

(J8) Know that the honorable and awesome Name is not pronounced, its letters remain
hidden [not to be articulated] as no one can grasp its ultimate meaning, namely be able to
comprehend the truth of what it teaches about the secret of existence {haHWYH), since
He does not occupy [physical] space nor posses substance (Hergesh). Accordingly, the
intended meaning [of the ineffable Name YHWH is to demonstrate] the true essence of
existence {haHWYH) which is [expressed by the letters] HWYH. Therefore, the divine
Name HWYH signifies that His is a necessary existence without any aspect of genera-
tion, and since He is not generated, how can a created vessel contain Him? Heaven for-
bid! And since His existence is unique and necessary to all existence, and is not a conse-
quence of action, therefore the exalted One's Name is read in a special manner, althoug
not according to its letters. In regard to what we have said previously, that is its not read
as it is written, nevertheless the Name provides a container (temple/palace Hekhal = 65)
and should be read according to what is hidden and concealed in it, as [the prophet] said:
"And YHWH in His holy temple {Hekhal = 65), let the earth be silent {Has = 65) before
Him", (Hab. 2: 20) [and as an other prophet said: "... saying, the temple {Hekhal) of
YHWH (Jer. 7: 4)].

the higher to the lower between the ontological orders seems similar. Cf. also ibid., p.
103 on Iamblichus restricting Pythagorean philosophy to the most scientific form of
knowledge, namely that corresponding to immaterial and unchanging reality as in Ni-
comachus.

112 Cf. A. Jellinek, Philosophie and Kabbala, Leipzig 1854, pp. J4-I5.

113 Cf. D. J. O'Meara, Pythagoras Revived: Mathematics and Philosophy in Late An-
tiquity, Oxford 1989, p. 133.

2.2 Numbers as Fixed Order for Infinite Creativity

Reading, not according to the letters but according to numbers, reveals the
truth hidden behind the literal text. The hierarchical structure of the divine
names is mirrored not in the biblical narrative, but in the recreated narra-
tive dominated by Gematria. The particle 3 (in, by) performs a special
function in this hermeneutical process. 114 One could even speak of a talis-
manic function of the words on a higher, interlinguistic level. Certain
words or letters on the linguistic level draw down the divine effluence and
enable the mystic to reach the revelatory level for the soul, i.e. to proceed
from the intellectual to the spiritual level. We must bear in mind that for
Gikatilla the task of the intended reader is to display the dynamic interrela-
tion between the different levels - which are simultaneously linguistic and
real." 6 Gikatilla goes further in his writing {Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 26):

(19) Meditate" 7 on these two words" 8 that are found in the same verse, each one bearing
testimony to the other's secret [meaning]:" 9 [First it says,] "And YHWH in His holy pal-
ace/temple (beHekhal)", and afterwards it is said "let the earth be silent {Has = 65) be-
fore Him" (Hab. 2: 20) - for the secret of 'be silent' (Has = 65) is the secret of the word
'temple' (Hekhal = 65).

[If one should ask] as to the meaning of the prefix Bet in the word beHekhal fthe an-
swer is that] it is merely instrumental (Shimush), [and if it is removed, the word] Hekhal
remains. Now the secret [meaning] of the word temple (Hekhal) contains the secret of 65
(Has, be silent), whose meaning is the Name YHWH, which is also called temple (Hek-
hal), in which YHWH is hidden. Nevertheless its pronunciation (Shimush) is Adonai
(ADNY = 65) [the Name] which the whole world uses to call Him, according to the se-
cret of 65 (Has, be silent).

This passage attributes a special function to the particle 2 (in) which puts
the two languages in a relation of analogy. As a result, we find here both a

114 On the use of that preposition, see M. Mottolese, Analogy in Midrash and Kabba-
lah. Interpretive Projections on the Sanctuary and Ritual, Los Angeles 2007.

115 See below: l\MVBi 'fflV.

116 Cf. M. Mottolese, Analogy in Midrash and Kabbalah, Los Angeles 2007, p. 328.

117 On this term see E. R. Wolfson, Language, Eros, Being, p. 210 and the relevant
footnote referring to Idel's opinion.

118 Cf. the two languages in Abulafia, the Torah of blood and ink, Sefer Sitrei Torah,
Ms Paris BN 774, fol. 166a. See on this issue also Isaac of Acre, Ms Sasson 919, p. 209;
cf. M. Idel, Absorbing Perfections, Appendix 2, esp. p. 445 where Idel refers to the re-
semblance and expansion of this idea in Gikatilla's Sha'arei 'Orah. The first part of Gin-
nat 'Egoz and its attempt to extract the divine names from the biblical verses' by exegeti-
cal techniques also refers to this earlier tradition. Cf. also Gikatilla's explanations on the
mn mm mn n'-o (covenant of faith and covenant of blood) in Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 160,
where he makes circumcision a condition for the "covenant of the mouth", i.e. the textual
study. On this passage, see E. R. Wolfson, "Circumcision, Vision of God, and Textual
Interpretation: From Midrashic Trope to Mystical Symbol", History of Religions 27
(1987), pp. 207-208; and idem, "Circumcision and the Divine Name: A Study in the
Transmission of Esoteric Doctrine", Jewish Quarterly Review 76 (1987), pp. 96-98.

119 Cf. Togarmi's expression: rorcn mxnb imft inn -inxiff, cited above.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

vertical and a horizontal analogy; the latter being between the two words
b3M (palace) and on (be silent), both having 65 as their numerical value. At
the same time, however, this horizontal analogy hints at a vertical one,
connected through a. With the help of the linguistic technique, Gematria,
the mystic acquires the essential insight into the divine relations between
the names. By the talismanic function of the names on the linguistic level,
the kabbalist is able to "use" the divine name and "liberate" the power of
this name hidden in the "temple/palace" of the word, its outer form. I am
inclined also to assume here a double meaning of the term w\W (use, in-
strumental). One is the profane use by the masses, which do not have the
necessary linguistic insight to obtain knowledge of the deeper level of the
name. They refer to the Tetragrammaton without knowing about the magic
(the other meaning of wW 20 ) implication made available by Gematria.
Gikatilla continues with his explanation and adds another step in the mys-
tical journey, emphasizing the place of each word in Scripture (Ginnat
'Egoz, p. 26):

(20) This is the secret [meaning] of his words, "let the earth be silent before Him" - 'be
silent' (Has) numerically equals 65. There is one instance [in the Scripture] that [the ap-
pearance of the word] Has is not to be understood according to this meaning; for there it
is not found in proximity to the Name nor is it said by the blessed One or a prophet. [I
refer] to the matte of 'Eglon [king of Moab] "And he said 'be silent!'" (Jud. 3: 19).
Therefore, one should examine all the words of our entire Torah with this view in mind:
Were the words said by the blessed One, or one of His prophets, or by someone else?
Since [in regards to their secret meaning] all of these words are not equal! This is an
honorable and wonderful matter, and accordingly you will be able to understand the
words of the prophets as received from the blessed One with their sublime interpreta-
tions. This has been stated by the prophet, "Then shall he say, be silent! For we must not
mention the Name of the Lord" (Amos 6: 10) - be silent (Has = 65) when you mention
the Name of the Lord; in other words, pronounce [it in a hidden fashion] AdoNaY
(ADNY = 65) so as not to articulate the unique Name, which is YHWH.

We are reminded here of R. Ezra's Commentary on Song of Songs, men-
tioned in our Introduction, where he describes a similar exegetical method.
The mystic has to find the correlation between biblical text and sefirotic
system, the latter being a fixed structure. R. Ezra also admits that the same
words may have a different meaning or reference according to their place,
context and textual level, referring to different levels or places within the
divine system. 121

120 Cf. Sha'arei 'Orah I: 49-50; and M. Idel, "On Judaism, Jewish Mysticism and
Mag 1C ", in eds. P. Schafer and H. G. Kippenberg, Envisioning Magic. A Princeton Semi-
nar & Symposium, Leiden/New York/Koln 1997, pp. 195-214.

Cf. M. Mottolese, Analogy in Midrash and Kabbalah. Interpretive Projections on
the Sanctuary and Ritual, Los Angeles 2007, chap. 5 on the reappearance of the midrash-
ic structures as geometric-numerical order or semantic order in Nahmanides' Perush ha-

2.3 Language as the Path to Prophecy according to Togarmi, Abulafia aitfj Gikatilla 63

2.3 Language as the Path to Prophecy according to- Togarmi,
Abulafia and Gikatilla

Togarmi describes the prophetic state as follows (Ms Paris 770, fol. 3a): 122

(21) The image (Haqiqah) is the apex of the three [letters that compose the] divine
Names YH, YHWH and YHWH. His Name be blessed, who spoke and created the world
through them [surely] those are prophetic words. Behold! Three numbers (Sefarim) which
are wisdom and understanding and knowledge (haHokhmah wehaTevunah wehaDa'at =
1037 = 37-10 = 27), are included in the unique Name. Therefore two letters are all which
are sublime (Zakh = 27) and they comprise Sefer (340), Sefar and Sippur (Sefer, Sefar,
Sippur = 1026 = 26+1 = 27) and this is the secret of "there (sham) he made (Sam) for
them a statute (Hoq) and an ordinance, and there (Sham) he tested them", (Ex. 15: 25) -
Sham Sam (2x340 = 680) ... and they are three names: Shem, Shem and Shem (340 = 3+4
= 7x3 = 21+6 (Waw) [and] = 27) and their secret is 22 [letters] ('Esrim uShnayyim =
1026 = 26+1=27).

This passage is based on the Gematria of 27, either composed of 3x7 (plus
6) (according to the gematric rule of p'"^) as the sum of 3x aw (340 = 3+4
= 7x3 = 21) plus 6 (1) or the sum of it 1026 adding up to 1+26 = 27.

Language, which is composed of the 22 letters of the alphabet (the word
itself has the value of 1026 = 1+26 = 27) plus the end forms of 5 letters
(27), is described as the true way to prophecy and the knowledge of the
divine ("|"T, sublime, 27). In writings influenced by Neoplatonic thought
like those of Ibn Gabirol, this 1"T has the same meaning as ]WX~\ lain (first
matter) in Abulafia' s Sheva Netivot haTorah. The letters appear here as
hieroglyphs, which are not bound to the lower realm but the upper one.
With the help of the intellect and the usage of certain linguistic -techniques
with their fixed patterns of combination, the mystic can reach the higher
level of revelation and be absorbed into the world of language, which has
total control over him. The reality of the upper world is created only with
the help of language and consequently the only means to reach and un-
derstand this realm is language itself - according to certain secret rules of
combination. 124 With the help of the hierarchical order of language, the

Torah, R. Ezra's Perush Shir ha-Shirim and R. Azriel's Perush ha'Aggadot, cf. esp. pp.
132-137.

122 Cf. Ginnat 'Egoz, pp. 272-275 and 460-461 .

123 Cf. Derrida's famous dictum "Rien d'hors de texte".

124 Cf. here also Abulafia's statement in 'Otzar 'Eden Ganuz 90a, where the technique
of Tzeruf 'Otiyyot prepares and leads the mystic to the knowledge of "the true reality":
laa mtrxan nnm inv niTnsn titsip rmia:a n^atman uTftaj? ins tratrain Vai umx now
icann "pax ,nawna ana rna] nwxan nnaN nvv -pr nvn ay nVim ~\-\i awn nf?p irra Ninu?
.-iav?n -wan anya rrnp naa mwrr? anp tyrpxni .Ti-pxn sin n^s (We and all the followers of
our intellectual prophetic tradition say that letter combination teaches us the true reality.
It is easier than the worldy method which is the way of knowing true reality by great

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

mystic is able to recognize and reorganize the cosmic order in magic pro-
cedures based on language. Gikatilla has a strong interest in this cosmolog-
ical aspect. The daily ritual guarantees the cosmic order, as both are inter-
dependent. As the mathematical value of each name is main (compulsive,
necessary), so is the order of the universe, depending on the "(magical)
power of the Name".

It seems that Gikatilla refers here, by the term rrDi», to the first of the
four methods of calculating the numerical value of the letters of the He-
brew alphabet in rabbinic literature. 125 The interpretation in Shabbat 70a
on Ex. 35: 1 quotes the Baraita of 32 rules with the example of Gematria
on the name of Eliezer, the servant (Gen. 14: 14), having the same numeri-
cal value (318) as the 318 men mentioned in the biblical verse. In fact, it
was only the servant of Abraham and not 318 men that the verse refers to.
The first method of numerical interpretation is called Tmn nooa (compul-
sive number) known as the absolute or normative value of each letter. The
other methods of Gematria are called nDOfc pp "iDoa, pp idd», mro "ido».

In Ginnat 'Egoz the method is applied as follows (p. 292):

(22) Following this know that the entire world operates according to the principle of cal-
culation, 126 and the calculation is dependent on His blessed Name. And know that the fire
of Adonay ('Esh Adonay = 366) results from the truth of calculation (Heshbon = 366),
whose secret is the Name YHWH (shem YHWH = 366). Understand this method like this:
that within the palace of His blessed concealment the fire is found since it was the first
desire, and as we have already explained, this fire is not a substance nor is it subtle, ra-
ther it is the fire of the intellect. It serves as the foundation of all light from whose true
essence all others derive. Now understand that the palace of YHWH (Hekhal YHWH) is
the fire of the Name ('Esh Shem) [by rearranging these word-pairs their numerical values
also equal 366: Hekhal (65) + 'Esh (301) = 366; Shem (340) + YHWH (26) = 366)]. I27

In this passage Gikatilla explains the cosmic organization by numerology,
depending on the divine names. With the help of the "fire of the intellect",
the cosmos was created and with the knowledge of its inner secrets - its
numerology - the mystic may penetrate into those secrets. This is a purely
intellectual procedure, and not an astrological undertaking. However, this
process of intellectualizing is not static but a highly dynamic activity.
Gikatilla goes on to describe the magical function of such knowledge of an

thought, but what brings us near it is [letter] combination. And the combination is close
to comprehension by power of the Cherub, in getting close to the boy as mentioned).

Cf. G. Scholem, Art. "Gematria", Encyclopaedia Judaica, vol. 7, Jerusalem 2 1997,
p. 424. See also the additional remarks by M. Idel in that article, ibid., p. 427.

The same sentence appears also on page 275: ^v in:na o^iyn "?d nvm Tis uiann mai
.n"irr d"w mof y-nwnn no 1

I may suggest that it would be more logic to read: "Hekhal 'Esh (palace of fire =
366) equals Shem YHWH (the name YHWH = 366).

2.3 Language as the Path to Prophecy according to Togarmi, Ahulafia and Gikatilla 65

"ordered" cosmos depending on the hierarchy of the divine names (Ginnat
'Egoz, pp. 292-293):

(23) Therefore I say that by articulating Kaph Waw (26 = YHWH) Peh Waw (86 = 'Elo-
him) is forced to become active, as you will see throughout the Account of Creation. This
is because through the secret of Peh Waw (86) the work is done, albeit only through the
power that it receives from the truth of Kaph Waw (26), who is the activating factor for
[enabling] the work of Peh Waw (86). Therefore you should know that Kaph Waw (26)
forces (Kopheh) and Peh Waw (86) does the work. If you meditate on this matter you will
know that Peh Waw (86) is [the Name] appointed upon the powers called 'Elohim, who
are activated by the power of pronouncing the Name that forces (HDiDn) all of them [i.e.
galvanizes them to action]. They are subordinated to Him, and by His command they do
what they are supposed to do, and they have no premission to deviate from His order.

There are several remarkable passages in this text. The articulation of the
Tetragrammaton with the numerical value of 26 awakes the action and
power of the divine name 128 DTI7K, which is responsible for "the work" of
creation and is now under the "reign" of the mystic. All this happens in
accordance with a fixed mathematical structure and explains the details of
Genesis (H913). Creation takes place according to the "power of the name"
which the mystic raises by articulating it (own iron n:n, by the power of
uttering the name) and thereby activating the divine influx (hinted at by the
expression *7npan rm [by the power of the recipient]), which refers to the
Vnpai 1TDTO Tio (secret of that which overflows and that which receives)' 29
derived from Sefer Yetzirah. This is a clear indication of a magical proce-
dure which governs the exegetical activity and the cosmic motions, and
which can never function in its own right (mwb mun on 1 ? fNi, they have no
right to change). The last sentence might have a double function in this
context. In the first place, it expresses the dependence of the astrological
system on the divine names, but secondly, it may also contain a warning to
the mystic not to change any letter (number) of this holistic system, which
might otherwise be destroyed and with it all the worlds depending on it.
This emphasizes the grave responsibility of the transmitting person within
such an exegetical approach and its restriction to small elites of initiated

128 Cf. the power of the names in Hekhalot literature, R. Lesses, Rituals to Gain Pow-
er. Angels, Incantations, and Revelations in Early Jewish Mysticism, Harrisburg 1998,
esp. chap. 4.

129 See in the passage below the term -|Wl» and further on -pi nb w rowani rDWZM! 'ni
.rurVyn nman '•so vw (And every overflow has a foreseen way according to its supernal
direction). Cf. Ch. Mopsik, Le Secret du Manage de David et Bethsabee. Texte hebreu
etabli, traduit et presente, Combas 1994, pp. 42-43; and more recently E. R. Wolfson,
"Beyond Good and Evil: Hypernomianism, Transmorality, and Kabbalistic Ethics", in
eds. G. W. Barnard and J. J. Kripal, Crossing Boundaries. Essays on the Ethical Status of
Mysticism, New York 2002, p. 147, n. 61, with an English translation of the relevant pas-
sage from yau> ro no.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

only. Such esoteric knowledge is linked to a secret tradition, which only a
few are able to transmit and to understand, as is explicitly stated in the fol-
lowing words {Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 293):

(24) Nevertheless, you must know that not all can merit the [exalted] level [of
knowledge] of the [secret] intention of the Name - [the Name that contains the potential]
for actualizing the others [i.e. the other names] For not all who wish to take [upon them-
selves the obligations of] the Name may do so, but only [select] individuals [to be found]
in several generations, and only then if this individual is worth to "behold the beatitude
of YHWH" (Ps. 27: 4), then can he know the [secret] intentions known [to only a few]
concerning how the Name emanates everything that exists.

It becomes clear that Gikatilla considers himself to be such a tit (chosen
one), as he uses the personal pronoun MX (I) quite frequently in this pas-
sage. 130 The emphasis on "knowledge" (J7T) plays a central role throughout
his entire opus. A similar passage appears in Ginnat 'Egoz on p. 294:

(25) Regarding this individual, [found] in a generation midst of several generations, if he
does attain some of [the Torah's] most hidden mysteries as well as some secrets of its
understanding ... [by virtue of] his knowledge, this individual is inclined to hide [the
secrets] from the masses.

The power of such morn (pronunciation) and its influence on the strictly
ordered universe 131 is again emphasized in this ongoing passage, Ginnat
'Egoz, p- 293:

(26) Each and every influx possesses a well-know path [determined] according to super-
nal direction. [Consequently] each pronunciation is not random! Rather each pronuncia-
tion testifies to the essence of the entity being addressed. It is fixed to this entity no mat-
ter in what direction the [divine] spirit will move it (haRuah laLekhet). When a person
knows the main intention (Kawwanah) of specific pronuncations of the unique Name,
and he knows how all these entities that he wants to dominate exist, and how their exist-
ence depends on the Name he mentions - if he knows all this - then this entity, whose
existence is maintained by the power of its [specific] pronunciation, is forced to fulfill
the will of the one who pronounces it according to the instruction [inherent in] the pro-
nunciation, as this Name is appointed [authority] over this entity. In this way we have
explained how the designated [and multiple] pronunciations of the Name demonstrate
that the existence of the entities is bound to the Name YHWH ... and in the temple would
they [i.e. the priests] pronounce the Name, in known ways and at designated times, but
since the sinners became numerous the priests (Kohanim) began to refrain from pro-

lso Cf. this idea of the few chosen ores among several generations also in R. Ezra, Pe-
rush Shir haShirim; cf. Idel, "On Transmission in Jewish Culture", in eds. Y. Elman and
I. Gersoni, Transmitting Jewish Traditions: Orality, Textuality, and Cultural Diffusion,
New Haven/London 2000, pp. 138-165; and Wolfson's article "Beyond the Spoken
Word: Oral and Written Transmission in Medieval Jewish Mysticism", pp. 166-224 in
the same volume.

131 See the frequent use of semantic fields like: , , i"?n .rnsia ,mpan -pi bv ... xb ,uvp
.nrap ,nsnnp .rp-Drf?

2.3 Language as the Path to Prophecy according to Togarmi, Abulafia and Gikatilla 67

nouncing the Name aloud [cf. for example Sefer Mitzwot haGadol, positive command-
ments §209].

In this remarkable passage, Gikatilla explains how the hierarchical pyra-
mid with the divine names above and the cosmological order below can be
activated magically by the mystic's naming the names in their correct or-
der. In former times the Jerusalem Temple represented this order 132 analo-
gously, but now the pure formulas - hidden by the Kohanim - replace (and
not only allow a re-experience 133 of) the sanctuary with the help of exeget-
ical tools. The linguistic techniques are represented as a powerful tool in
ordering the several layers of the pyramid: the reduction of the biblical text
to the divine names reveals the magical tools in order to re-order the cos-
mos above and below. The text has a strictly fixed 134 order by analogy with
the cosmological and the divine order. With its inherent power, it can bring
down the divine influx (rownn), with the help of the parallel structure of
the proclamation (mam mix own) 135 and the theurgical intentionality, to
the upper realm (mv^y nniD) 136 of the mystic. Such a theory is in direct

Cf. M. Mottolese, Analogy in Midrash and Kabbalah. Interpretive Projections on
the Sanctuary and Ritual, Los Angeles 2007, pp. 59-119; and the monographs of M.
Barker, The Gate of Heaven: The History and Symbolism of the Temple in Jerusalem,
London 1991; eadem, On Earth as it is in Heaven: Temple Symbolism in the New Testa-
ment, Edinburgh 1995; eadem, Temple Theology. An Introduction, London 2004. See also
the short note in S. Pines, "Points of Similarity between the Exposition of the Doctrine of
the Sefirot in the Sefer Yetzira and a Text of the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies: The Im-
plications of this Resemblance", in eds. W. Z. Harvey and M. Idel, Studies in the History
of Jewish Thought by Shlomo Pines, Jerusalem 1997, p. 1 13.

133 Cf. M. Mottolese, Analogy in Midrash and Kabbalah. Interpretive Projections on
the Sanctuary and Ritual, Los Angeles 2007, pp. 55-56, 98-99, where he refers to the re-
creation of the real world in the imagination as a crucial aspect of mythical and mystical
language. The mythopoeic imagination was essentially connected to the "midrashic"
structure of the discourse.

134 See our comments above.

133 On the various meanings of this word in Castilian Jewry as form, configuration and
constellation see M. Idel, "Astral-Magical Pneumatic Anthropoids in 14th Century Spain
and 15th Century Italy", Accademia III (2001), p. 100, n. 24, 29. On the meaning of this
word in Ma'arekhet ha'Elohut, see D. Schwartz, "From Theurgy to Magic: The Evolu-
tion of the Magical-Talismanic Justification of Sacrifice in the Circle of Nahmanides and
his Interpreters", Aleph 1 (2001), p. 196 and his reference to Elkayam's articles. See also
Rambam's interpretation of the creation of man and his ideas on mix (form) in his Guide
of the Perplexed.

136 Cf. G. Scholem, "The Concept of the Kavvanah in the Early Kabbalah", in ed. A.
Jospe, Studies in Jewish Thought: An Anthology of German Jewish Scholarship, Detroit
1981, pp. 169-170; cf. also S. Brody, Human Hands Dwell in Heavenly Heights: Wor-
ship and Mystical Experience in Thirteenth Century Kabbalah, PhD Thesis University of
Pennsylvania 1991, pp. 317-334; and his later elaboration on this topic in idem, "Human
Hands Dwell in Heavenly Hights: Contemplative Ascent and Theurgic Power in Thir-

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

opposition to the rabbinic interpretation of the temple service. Gikatilla
declares his version of the temple rituals, 137 i.e. the pronunciation of the
words, to be valid for the present situation of the reader. With actual utter-
ance as a crucial aspect of mythical and mystical language, a new defini-
tion of religiosity is given by "the magic of the spoken letter". Only
through language is the connection between the "linguistic" ritual act and
the divine name established. 138 Unlike Maimonides, 139 who defines the
word with the help of the actual deed, Gikatilla does not need the actual
performance of the ritual, as he uses the "performative utterance" instead,
in order to unite with the divine. With the help of such an ontological pat-
tern, where the pure word can replace the performance (in contrast to
Gikatilla' s later works), religion is reduced to a repeated, energetic use of
divine names, and wonders are "natural" parts of the mystic's activity.
Rashba affirms such a possibility of those linguistic miracles: "And it is
not impossible that such a power should also be in speech, as in the cases
of amulets and similar objects". 141

The dynamics of such a magical act awakes the shift within fixed cos-
mological and linguistic structures according to the higher divine order,
revealed to the mystic with the help of his exegesis, as described in Cinnat
'Egoz, p. 293:

(27) [We have already stated] that the articulation of the Name necessarily causes mo-
tion. They [the philosophers] say that [the forces of] nature do not change, nature is
therefore fixed, and so nature rules (Manhig) the world in an unchanging fashion. While

teenth Century Kabbalah", in ed. R. A. Herrera, Mystics of the Book: Themes, Topics,
and Typologies, New York 1993, pp. 123-158; see also E. R. Wolfson, "Beyond Good
and Evil: Hypernomianism, Transmorality, and Kabbalistic Ethics", in eds. G. W. Bar-
nard and J. J. Krtpal, Crossing Boundaries. Essays on the Ethical Status of Mysticism,
New York 2002, p. 144, n. 20.

137 See also the paragraph about Sha'arei 'Orah I: 206, in this chapter.

On "performative utterance", cf. J. L. Austin, How to Do Things with Words, eds.
J. O. Urmson and M. Sbisa, Cambridge 1975, who writes: "The term performative utter-
ance indicates that the issuing of the utterance is the performing of an action - it is not
normally thought of as just saying something", ibid., pp. 6-7 (his references to ritual see
pp. 19, 25). Cf. also J. Searle, Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language,
Cambridge 1969, who builds on Austin's speech-act theory, and pays special attention to
the institution and its fixed order/rules, that the system creates.

Cf. on Maimonides and prophecy H. Ravven, "Some Thoughts on what Spinoza
Learned from Maimonides about the Prophetic Imagination. Part 1. Maimonides on
Prophecy and Imagination", Journal of the History of Philosophy 39 (2001), pp. 193-
214.

140 Cf. H. Kreisel, "Miracles in Medieval Jewish Philosophy", Jewish Quarterly Re-
view 75 (1984), pp. 99-133.

141 Cf. Rashba's Responsa, 1/1, ed. H. Z. Dimitrovsky, Jerusalem 1990, pp. 297, and
Schwartz's reference, "From Theurgy to Magic", p. 200 and p. 201, n. 73.

2.3 Language as the Path to Prophecy according to Togarmi, Abulafia and Gikatilla 69

all this is true it is [also] not true, in truth the world operates through the power of the
blessed One, who eternally sustains the existence of all the [the forces of] nature [in a
fixed fashion]. [On the other hand] the one who rules over nature and maintains the exist-
ence of all natural [forces] can also change them at will, for He is regent over them, since
He, the blessed One, has created them from nothing. All generated beings are dependent
upon ther emanator, 142 and therefore nature cannot oppose His will [lit. stand up to Him].
This is the way [to explain the possibility] of wonders and miracles, as we have ex-
plained.

Here Gikatilla rejects the laws of the natural sciences and uses 1DQ (nature)
in a broader sense than simply "nature", rather in the sense of the Stoic
natura, in which nature cannot change its given status. The divine creator
created reality out of nothing, according to His own rules, which Gikatilla
is now about to reveal and use. However, if the mystic acquires full
knowledge of these higher linguistic combination and their secrets, he can
influence the laws of "nature" and act as a magician. His polemics against
philosophers such as Rambam and his rejection of the magical approach
becomes clear in the next few sentences, Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 294:

(28) Everything depends upon His will; this [statement] is clear testimony [to the fact]
that all [the forces of] nature are generated. Alas! Those today who believe there is no
possibility to change nature in our times [i.e. witness miracles], we cannot blame them if
these matters seem impossible at this time; for today such wisdom is very far removed
from the knowledge of the many ... and all this knowledg is so far removed from the
masses and even from most of the sages of our time ... Consequently, this wisdom has
become estranged from the nation that [had previously] received it and became privy to it
... According to these methods I have been initiated ('Orarti) to the necessity of intellec-
tually clarifying matters that remain concealed {beMistorim) as our entire Torah is built
on the principle of wonders and miracles namely, that all existence is completely miracu-
lous and [the ability] to change nature lies within His will. As such the [various] articula-
tions of His unique Name, whose mention is blessed and sublime, necessarily determine
the fixed orders and the actions of all [natural] forces.

In this passage, Gikatilla defines his new approach to "intellectual" (rvbouO
religiosity and the real structure of "our Torah". If the mystic follows
Gikatilla's linguistic advice he can reach the level of the divine name, at
which "change" begins and which is possible only on the highest level.
The magic use of these names, which establish and represent the cosmic
order, where "the perfect wonder" is part of this structure, can change this
order and "work" according to the secret linguistic rules. Gikatilla takes

142 Cf. a similar passage in Barukh Togarmi's Perush Sefer Yetzirah, hinting to the es-
oteric character of this idea and the additional instruction needed in order to understand
it: -im nn .in "73:11 "733 Kim d'id "?d ■?» hip' sin '3 irx V?i ana wsin^ iwdn i si Ewsann Kim
.Timm nQ3n nwpm n"7N cpqm d i- D70 w k"?w (Since He invented/created them it is im-
possible to remove Him from them ... and He is in everything and everything is in Him.
And this is a matter that cannot be grasped except by the investigation of additional wis-
dom.)

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

issue with Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed and gives here a new defi-
nition of nature and the magic possibilities therein. In his guidance for the
"perplexed" he explains that if the mystic understands the "inner structure"
(cf. Sod haNiqqud, 38b) of the divine names, he reaches a higher level than
do the philosophers. 143 He will be able to bring about changes in the onto-
logical religious system of reality. The difference between the "allegory"
of the philosophers and the symbolic nature of the theosophic kabbalah lies
in the reduction of the whole Torah to the divine names and their availabil-
ity for magical use by the mystic. The divine names represent the hidden
layer of the Torah and the pure word can change nature. The anti-
Aristotelian tendency becomes clear in the frequent use of semantic fields
such as nnDai vw\ msrnp (determined, known, obligatory). The mystic
does not directly influence nature, but its higher, clearly structured order;
and this causes a dynamic move from the higher to the lower realm. We
could even say that at this point, where Gikatilla criticizes the Aristotelian
position, he puts forward Neoplatonic linguistic theories in order to create
a functional kabalistic system.

Another example for such radical 144 exegesis is found in other sequenc-
es in Ginnat 'Egoz concerning the Shabbat, where Gikatilla argues for an
intellectual way to paradise. 145 Based on the numbers of the three divine
names he writes in the beginning of Ginnat 'Egoz in the passage about the
name as ^n (palace):

(29) Therefore, you will find that David, may he rest in peace, has stated these three
names: "Hodu leYHWH [26], Hodu le'Elohei ha'Elohim [86], Hodu le'Adonai [65]
ha'Adanim", (Ps. 136: 1, 2, 3) whose secrets are Kaph Waw (26), Peh Waw (86) and Sa-
mekh He (65). These Names contain the secret of the [three] stages of the intellection,
and they are called the Garden of Eden (Gan 'Eden = 177) for through understanding
them one enters the Garden of Eden while still alive. 146

The three names, whose secrets are 26 (YHWH), 86 {'Eiohim) and 65
('Adonai) are the secret of the stages of the intellectual degrees, and they
are called by the name Garden of Eden, for by grasping them the mystic

Cf. also the polemics against philosophical wisdom and the superiority of the
"wisdom of the letters and names" in the writings of his contemporary, R. Natan ben
Sa'adia Har'ar, Sha'arei Tzedeq, Ms Leiden, Warner 24, fol. 127a; M. Idel, Absorbing
Perfection, p. 364.

On a different position, regarding the mystical experience rather as experimental
confirmation than radical exegesis see S. Katz, "Models, Modeling, and Mystical Train-
ing", Religion 12 (1982), pp. 247-275; see M. Idel, "Radical Forms of Jewish Hermeneu-
tics", Absorbing Perfections, chap. 9.

Cf. M. Idel, "Sabbath: On Concepts of Time in Jewish Mysticism", in ed. G. J.
Blidstein, Sabbath. Idea, History, Reality, Be'er Sheva 2005, p. 69.

Cf. Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 98.

2.3 Language as the Path to Prophecy according to Togarmi, Abulafia and Gikatilla 7 1

enters the Garden of Eden while still alive, i.e. he has obtained access
his own intellectual paradise by means of a linguistic act - the three divine
names. Moshe Idel has shown, how this passage is derived from Togarmi's
Commentary on Sefer Yetzirah and the Gematria of 177 in Hashha'at
haLashon (1176 = 176+1 = 177), Shalosh Se'udot (1178 = 178-1 = 177),
Yomam waLaylah (177) and the three divine names YHWH (26), 'Eiohim
(86), and 'Adonai (65) = (177), to which the incantation of language is re-
lated. The other context for this passage is Abulafia' s commentary on the
Guide of the Perplexed in his Sitrei Torah, Ms Paris BN 774, fol. 115b, 148
where he also refers these numbers to the three meals, the three names and
the number of chapters in the three parts of the Guide, ill whose numeri-
cal value is Gan 'Eden. 14 It is interesting to observe that Abulafia too in-
troduces the Gematria of the three divine names, the meals and the chap-
ters with the term Simon, the introductory term for Gematria also in Gin-
nat 'Egoz. The numerical figure of 177 points in Gikatilla' s passage also to
the three meals on Shabbat that should be eaten ritualistically according to
the rabbis (bShabbat 117b). Togarmi combines here the term paradise with
linguistic acts, the incantation, the divine names and the ritual of keeping
the Sabbath. By the concentration of the ritual within the names and their
availability in numerical techniques, the actual meal may be replaced by
the spiritual, i.e. the linguistic meal, and the ritual order of time, Shabbat,
is replaced by the mystical experience. In contrast to the concentration on
ritualistic performance, Abulafia emphasizes linguistic interpretation and
the relevant numerical figures, aiming at exercising the knowledge of
Hokhmat haNistar. Although Gikatilla and Togarmi do not mention the
Guide or the number of its chapters, all authors base their speculations on
the kabbalistic calculation of the three divine names, the meals and Gan
'Eden. This implicates that if Abulafia received a tradition including the
chapters of the Guide it did not reach him via Togarmi's circle. Such a dis-
tinguishing trend in Abulafia becomes also obvious in his ignorance of the
"incantation of language", which we find in both Gikatilla's and Togarmi's
magic interest in their numerical exegesis of the three divine names mn\
mN, and dti^s. However, all three kabbalists interpret the names as a
"key" for entering paradise while alive, which is according to Abulafia the
ultimate goal of his system, the prophetic experience as reaching an escha-

Cf. M. Idel, "On Paradise in Jewish Mysticism", in ed. Ch. Ben-Noon, The Cradle
of Creativity, Hod haSharon 2004, pp. 628-629.

148 Also in Ms British Library Or. 4596, catalogue Margoliouth 757, fol. 2b. On these
numbers, see also R. Jospe, "The Number and Division of Chapters in the Guide of the
Perplexed', in eds. M. Idel, W. Z. Harvey, E. Schweid, Jerusalem Studies in Jewish
Thought: Pines Jubilee Volume 9 (1988), part I, pp. 387-397 (Hebrew).

149 Cf. M. Idel, "Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed and Kabbalah", Jewish History
18(2004), p. 214.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

tological state' 50 with Maimonides' Guide functioning as an instrument for
mystical technique.

Gikatilla adds to Togarmi's allegorization of the Sabbath meals the idea
of the intellectual ladder constituted by the three divine names resembling
the three meals. Here paradise does not necessarily mean a place, but a
combination of linguistic techniques and intellectual acts which is tanta-
mount to paradise, as expressed in the title of the book Ginnat 'Egoz, the
garden where one finds the tree of life and that of knowledge, achieved by
the linguistic activities of Gematria, Notarikon and Temurah. ]5] This
transference of "Shabbat as God's name" is rooted in ancient Jewish tradi-
tions, 152 partly found in the Pseudo-Clementines, Homily XVII, 153 where
God is called "repose", anapausis. Such traditions base their ideas on the
sefirot and the names on interpretations of Sefer Yetzirah on one hand, and
on parallel intellectual streams within the Graeco-Roman world on the oth-
er hand.

By referring to the three-dimensional function of the name as ^n (pal-
ace) the mystic can "enter" the name linguistically and "enter" paradise at
the same time, expressed in our passage by the repetition of the adverb -pn,
once with the preposition » and the second time with "?. With the help of
Gematria once again the essence of the ritual act becomes available in
number and its intellectual combination as a way to paradise, to an experi-
ence of perfection. 154 Gikatilla refers exactly to this function of the name
as ^DTl in his treatise on the three meals of Shabbat (Ms London BL 1087,
fol. 123b):

(30) Know that in the palace (Hekhal) of the blessed Name there are three degrees and
three seals, which are concealed (Hatumiri) in the three Names ... these three Names are
the order of the true, perfect union. Behold, [following] the form of these three Names is
the secret of the Torah, Prophets, and Writings [i.e. the three books of Scripture].

' ° Cf. Ms Firenze-Laurenziana II, 48, fol. 22a. See M. Idel, "Abulafia's Secrets of the
Guide: A Linguistic Turn", in eds. A. Ivry, E. R. Wolfson, A. Arkush, Perspectives on
Jewish Thought and Mysticism, Amsterdam 1998, pp. 272-274; idem, "Maimonides'
Guide of the Perplexed and Kabbalah", Jewish History 18 (2004), pp. 215-216.

Cf. also Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 243, where lower 'Eden is compared to the body and
higher 'Eden to the soul (the intellect), and the upper and the lower forms resemble each
other. On the TXn principle as demonstrated in this passage, see M. Mottolese, Analogy in
Midrash and Kabbalah. Interpretive Projections on the Sanctuary and Ritual, Los Ange-
les 2007, Index ke-neged with numerous references.

Cf. S. Pines, "Points of Similarity between the Exposition of the Doctrine of the
Sefirot in the Sefer Yetzira and a Text of the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies: The Implica-
tions of this Resemblance", in eds. W. Z. Harvey and M. Idel, Studies in the History of
Jewish Thought by Shlomo Pines, Jerusalem 1997, pp. 127-128.

' Cf. B. Rehm, Pseudoklementinen I: Homilien, Berlin 1969, p. 234.

154 Cf. M. Idel, "Sabbath: On Concepts of Time in Jewish Mysticism", in ed. G. J.
Blidstein, Sabbath. Idea, History, Reality, Be'er Sheva 2005, p. 90.

2.3 Language as the Path to Prophecy according to Togarmi, Abulafia and Gikatilla 73

Whereas in Ginnat 'Egoz the aim of intellectual activity is the mystical ex-
perience, in his later works Gikatilla pays more attention to the actual per-
formance of the ritual and its theurgical implications. The text mentioned
above goes on to describe specific rituals on Shabbat and their function in
the unification of the upper realm. Here the ritual is not allegorized, but its
performance signifies the first step in an upward movement culminating in
the union of the divine name and the mystic's entering the Hekhal to attain
to the final Devequt i55 with Keter.

(31) Following the afternoon service on Shabbat, during the [third] meal one must direct
his thought [i.e. imagine himself] as if he is standing in the upper world, which corre-
sponds to the Name 'Eheyeh, blessed be He and blessed be His Name ... It is through
[the participation in] the three meals on Shabbat, that a person enters the palace within a
palace and attains holiness within holiness [i.e. the innermost palace and the highest level
of holiness] ... since he will cleave to the supernal crown {Keter 'Elyori). And this is the
secret to which the Torah alludes - "and you call the Shabbat delight ('Oneg)," (Is. 58:
13) [and delight is the source {'Oneg Hu' haMaqor)~\.

Gikatilla does not transfer the actual performance of the ritual to the intel-
lectual realm but insists on the sabbatical performance 156 in order to enter
the gate of the upper Shabbat. In the passage below, the text is the
means to unite the sefirot, but not to attain to the intellectual paradise.

We may compare the text in Sod HaShabbat (Ms Paris 823, fol. 52ab,
printed in Sefer Hekhal haShem of R. Yehiel Ashkenazi, Venice 1594-
1604, p. 39b), with the relevant passages in Sha'arei 'Orah and in Sha'arei
Tzedeq™

(32) Know and believe that the Shabbat is the secret of all faith
also the secret of the creation {Hiddush) of the world and the
nature, as well as the secret of the explanation [lit. connection]
Shabbat is the the gate by which someone enters to the life of
is called the upper Shabbat {Shabbat 'Elyon) [59 and if a person
this world, he has no gate to enter into the world-to-come,
world-to-come are both called Shabbat. And this is the secret

and the entire Torah. It is
maintenance (Qiyyum) of
of wonders and miracles,
the world-to-come, which
does not keep Shabbat in
because Shabbat and the
[of the verse] "And also

Cf. on this phenomenon A. Afterman, Intimate Conjunction with God: The Con-
cept of "Devekut" in the Early Kabbalah (Provence and Catalonia), PhD Thesis Hebrew
University Jerusalem 2008.

I5fl See our passage on this issue in "Status of the Text"; cf. M. Idel, "Types of Re-
demptive activities in the Middle Ages", in ed. Z. Baras, Messianism and Eschatology,
Jerusalem 1964, pp. 263-269.

157 Cf. M. Idel, "Shabbat: On Concepts of Time in Jewish Mysticism", in ed. G. J.
Blidstein, Sabbath. Idea, History, Reality, Be'er Sheva 2005, pp. 76-79.

158 See our passage on this issue in "Status of the Text", M. Idel, "Types of Redemp-
tive activities in the Middle Ages", in ed. Z. Baras, Messianism and Eschatology, Jerusa-
lem 1964, pp. 263-269 (Hebrew).

159 I.e. Binah, also referred to as the Grand Shabbat, HaShabbat haGadol, Cf. M. Idel,
n. 161 below.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

keep my Sabbaths," (Lev. 26: 2 et al.). This is the secret of two kinds of unifications;
"my Sabbaths" [refers to] the lower [unification of] Yesod and Malkkut as well as the
upper [unification] of Yesod and Binah. This means, if you keep the Shabbat that I have
given you, you will merit the Shabbat, which has been concealed [lit. stored] above,
where the human eye cannot see it. And this is the secret of this dictum of our Sages of
blessed memory: "All the commandments (Mitzwot) were given at mount Sinai except for
the Shabbat, which was given privately, as it is said ... for this is a sign ('Ot) between
Me and you ... (Ex. 31: 13)".

The performance of the Shabbat ritual here below allows the mystic to en-
ter into the gate of the upper Shabbat. The theurgic effect and the final aim
of this performance will be two kinds of unification in the sefirotic realm,
the lower one between Malkhut and Yesod, and the upper one between
Yesod up to Binah. As in Sha 'arei 'Orah Gikatilla places the theurgic ac-
tivity immediately within the context of Knesset Israel, whose prayers cre-
ate an effect on high. 160

A fascinating version of this theory on Shabbat in connection with the
"inner point" is presented in the writings of the 16 lh century Safedian kab-
balist R. Eliyahu de Vidas. In his book Reshit Hokhmah he describes the
Cordoverian tradition of Shabbat as it was received from Gikatilla after
being combined with the Zoharic tradition: 151

(33) According to what we have explained above; that all the days of the week receive
their nourishment from [lit. are suckled by] the Shabbat. Since the Shabbat day is the
center point around which all six days revolve, as if they are in a circle. Thus we find that
Shabbat is the root of all six days of the week and in each and every day there is some
influx of Shabbat ... This is why one should not work more than [strictly] needed for his
living, because in each day there is some form of Shabbat [legally necessitating its daily
observance].

According to de Vidas, Shabbat is not transcendental time, which should
be clearly distinguished from profane time, but is actually a nucleus which
radiates from the center of its power and holiness to the periphery of pro-
fane time. De Vidas transfers the concept of holiness to every day, since
each day has in itself an element of Shabbat and should therefore be hon-
ored by a partial cessation from work. 162 I wish to stress that in this view

160 Cf. also passage from Sha'arei 'Orah I: 76-77; and the donning of the Tefilin, with
prayer as the entering gate; cf. Justin Martyr, Dialogus cum Tryphone, Introduction with
a similar passage on entering a mystical vision.

61 Cf. Sefer Reshit Hokhmah, ed. Ch. Wagshal, Jerusalem 1997, p. 574, see also p.
565 with a reference to the Zoharic tradition on Shabbat as the inner point; for the refer-
ence and an English translation see M. Idel, "Sabbath: On Concepts of Time in Jewish
Mysticism", in ed. G. J. Blidstein, Sabbath. Idea, History, Reality, Be'er Sheva 2005, p.
73. Cf. also I. Tishby, Mishnat haZohar, vol. II, Jerusalem 1961, p. 490 referring to Zo-
har 2: 886. See also Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 1 72.

162 See M. Idel, ibid, p. 73.

2.3 Language as the Path to Prophecy according to Togarmi, Abulafia and Gikatilla 75

each day has in itself an element of the process of creation, which accord-
ing to Gikatilla can be activated by mystical exegesis and letter combina-
tion. In language, esp. in the vowel points, this secret of creation is cap-
tured and the mystic is able to discover it by his magic-mystical tech-
niques. Thus the ritual of Shabbat becomes purely intellectual again and
can be applied to any day of the week with its own element of holiness.

The ability to penetrate the innermost structure of language, i.e. the di-
vine, is derived in Gikatilla' s early works like Ginnat 'Egoz from the
knowledge of the inner structure of the highest divine name as mentioned
in the text above. Gikatilla looks for proof in rabbinic literature and finds it
in the passages about Honi haMe'agel. 163 He cites the text from Ta'anit 23,
79a, emphasizing Honi's oath 164 by the divine name. It is not the love of
God for his son, but Honi's oath which brings about the change in the nat-
ural order, 165 together with combination of an object (a circle) and an adju-
ration. As against what is stated in the Hekhalot literature, 166 here God
Himself is bound to the power of the name and its human utterance.
Through Honi's knowledge of magic and through his oath, the process of
change starts from above and descends to the lowest sphere. The influence
from the upper world, coming down as DW3, (meaning both "rain" and "cor-
poreality" 167 ), reaches our sphere (the lowest level of emanation) as

163 Cf. mTa'anit 3:8; bTa'anit 19a, 23ab; mSotah 9:5; Bereshit Rabba 5.5, 13.7. See
B. Bokser, "Wonder-Working and the Rabbinic Tradition: The case of Hanina ben Dosa",
Journal for the Study of Judaism 16 (1985), pp. 42-92. Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 294.

164 Cf. Searle's speech-act theory as exemplified in idem, Speech Acts: An Essay in
the Philosophy of Language, Cambridge 1969. See also R. Lesses, "The Adjuration of the
Prince of Presence: Performative Utterance in a Jewish Ritual", in eds. M. Meyer and P.
Mirecki, Ancient Magic and Ritual Power, Leiden 1995, pp. 185-206.

165 On the transformative character of the oath in the Pythagorean Golden Verses
(verses 44-53): "Work hard at this, meditate on this, you should passionately desire this;
Ihis will place you in the footsteps of divine virtue, yes, by him who imparted to your
soul the Tetraktys, fount of ever-flowing nature. But work and pray to the gods to grant
the fulfillment. When you have mastered these things, you will come to know the essence
of the immortal gods and mortal men, how it pervades each thing and how each thing is
ruled [by it]. You will come to know, as is right, nature, alike in everything, so that you
do not expect what is not to be expected, nor anything escape your notice". See J. Thorn,
The Pythagorean Golden Verses, Leiden 1995, pp. 96-97, 170-174; cf. also W. K. C.
Guthrie, History of Greek Philosophy, Cambridge 1967, 1: 225-226, who refers'to Aris-
totle's Metaphysica 986a 8 and the revelatory character of the Tetraktys, which unfortu-
nately was never explicitly mentioned by Aristotle. According to Guthrie it was Aristotle
who knew best the difference between Pythagoreanism and Platonism, ibid., p. 215. On
this topic, see also J. E. Raven, Pythagoreans and Eleatics, London 1948.

166 Cf. § 636 for example.

167 On nm as YHWH passing from one attribute to another attribute see R. Abraham
of Posquieres in his The Secret of Du-Parzufim, published by Scholem in Reshit ha-
Kabbalah (1150-1250), Jerusalem/Tel Aviv 1948, p. 79 (in Hebrew). Cf. also M. Idel,

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

rain. 168 This statement seems to be based on a passage from Sefer Yetzirah,
where the 29th path of wisdom is called: 169

.aViT'iD tr^in "73 nmn nnn Duarr im dim bi -isiin xinw ^so id s-ipn qipud "73© sip:
Atef/v 29 is called incorporated intellect since it describes all corporeality that becomes
manifest [Lehitgashem) in its full form {beGidulam) under the influence of the [heaven-
ly] spheres.

However, in contrast to Honi as a "man of action", 170 in Gikatilla the
whole process is set in the pure, intellectual knowledge of the higher order
of names, which enables the magician to bring about a change in the lower
order of nature. Gikatilla places the process of creation in the hands of the
initiated, Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 294:

(34) If you are intelligent, look into the matter and see that [human] oaths are binding on
[the One] above and [heaven] is obligated to fulfill the oath under all circumstances, as
said, "the rains (Geshamim) fall only to release the oath" (see bTa'anit 23a) like someone
who took upon himself an oath and cannot escape it, but must either fulfill it or annul it.

In this passage Gikatilla extends the regulations for the oath to the ritual
(Rosh HaShanah) and to historical events from Scripture. The Pythagorean
idea of TQK?n (calculation), applied by Gikatilla linguistically and exegeti-
cally, provides a code that allows the reader to transfer such historical or
ritual events to a higher spiritual level and to obtain an insight into the
deeper structure of their reality. Like Togarmi, Gikatilla shows that kabba-
lah is a pure technique, which confers power over the highest features of
reality. Gikatilla represents here remnants of an ancient Jewish tradition on
the use of the divine names, also mentioned by the Church Fathers (Ori-
gen), the Hekhalot literature and Hasidei Ashekanz (Eleazar of Worms).

Kabbalah: New Perspectives, p. 129. On the term as a loan word from Arabic (jirm and
jism), see A. Ivry, "Philosophical translations from the Arabic in Hebrew during the
Middle Ages", in eds. J. Hamesse and M. Fattori, Rencontres de Cultures dans la Philo-
sophic Medievale. Traductions et Traducteurs de I'Antiquite tardive au XIV e Siecle,
Louvain-La-Neuve/Cassino 1990, p. 183, n. 30.

I6S Cf. the different explanation by Rashba for the principle of rain (bTa'anit 10a as
context) as the outcome of supreme blessing, interweaving theosophical and magical-
astral aspects, see Schwartz, "From Theurgy to Magic", p. 204. See also Schwartz' refer-
ence to Ritba (p. 206), who accepts the magic of the divine names as an interpretive prin-
ciple. Note also the double meaning of □!£>!, the second meaning found for example in
Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 466, in the "middle" sphere, with form, matter and motion derived from
an external mover, the world of the spheres.

169 Cf. eds. E. Goodman-Thau and Chr. Schulte, Das Buch Jezira in der Ubersetzung
von Johann Friedrich von Meyer, Berlin 1993, p. 5.

170 Cf. N, Janowitz, Icons of Power. Ritual Practices in Late Antiquity, University
Park 2002, p. 97; comparing Choni's Ma'aseh to the "praxis" of the Greek Magical Pa-
pyri.

171 For more details cf. our chapter "Status of the Text".

2.4 Pythagorean and Neoplatonic Background to Gikatilla 's Hermeneutics

2.4 Pythagorean and Neoplatonic Background to Gikatilla' s
Hermeneutics

In Ginnat 'Egoz WO (sign) is used as a synonym for rou?n (calculation)
and it initiates the intellectual process of letter combination, which finally
leads to intellection of the divine realm via language. We could probably
compare this function with mathematics in Neoplatonic thought as found
in Iamblichus and Plotinus. For Iamblichus 173 mathematics is considered to
prepare the soul for the study of intelligibles by habituating it to the imma-
terial, purifying and strengthening it for the transition to pure being. In De
communi mathematica scientia 61, 22-8 Iamblichus describes five princi-
ples according to which he anticipates the study of intelligibles: a) com-
mon rational principles, b) a dim imagining of pure beings in numbers, c)
similarity, d) resemblance between model (beings) and image (number)
and e) causation, the relation between cause (being) and effect (number).

The linguistic activity of Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Gikatilla' s early work
seems to have a protreptic function towards divine insight, similar to that
of mathematics in Neoplatonic thought. 175 Although in both periods of
Gikatilla' s writings the term 170 has an important function, he adduces dif-
ferent aspects of this term both in his early and in his late literary creative
periods. In Ginnat 'Egoz the linguistic microcosmic order comes into fo-
cus, whereas in Sha'arei 'Orah Gikatilla is more concerned with the
sefirotic order and its relation to the biblical text. In his later work, the
reader is able to reestablish the inner divine order and gain access to this
world in order to repair it and gain influx from above. What unites the di-
vine names in Ginnat 'Egoz is Gematria, whereas in Sha'arei 'Orah it is
the ritual act performed by the kabbalist or the Knesset Israel as demon-
strated in the fifth gate of Sha 'arei 'Orah. The one who unites the two
worlds is according to Gikatilla the Tzaddiq and/or the theurge. 176

On the other hand, Gikatilla, also transmits this creative knowledge of the
linguistic realm, namely in his ideas on Tzerufei 'Otiyyot in Pythagorean
terms. The expression yawn ntr *?U iruna n^m (the world operates

172 While no (secret) is used to designate Gematria and Notarikon, Gikatilla is not
clear in his usage, as rnum also means Gematria.

173 Cf. De communi mathemtica scientia, ed. N. Festa, repr. Stuttgart 1975, 57, 7-9;
54, 25-55.

174 On this issue see D. J. O'Meara, Pythagoras Revived: Mathematics and Philosophy
in Late Antiquity, Oxford 1989, pp. 48-49. Cf. also p. 64 and the idea on numbers as ef-
ficient causation.

175 Cf. O'Meara, Pythagoras Revived: Mathematics and Philosophy in Late Antiquity,
Oxford 1989, pp. 50-51.

176 Cf. Sod haKeruvim, Ms Parma de Rossi 1230, fol. 108b-109b.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

according to the principle of calculation) has a definite Pythagorean char-
acter. 177 With the Tetraktys as defined by Pythagoras, 178 the symbol of
cosmogenesis, 179 and its numerical relations,' 80 the Pythagoreans postulat-
ed number as the basic principle in the universe, 81 a doctrine encapsulated
in aphorisms such as:

"Everything is like number", "The whole heaven is harmony and num-
ber", and "Things exist by imitating number". 182 Number constitutes the
basis not only of the material world, but also of the divine sphere. 183 Also
for Pythagoras, the clue to the mysteries of the universe lies in the
Tetraktys, the harmony of numbers, the divine principle that governs the
structure of the whole world, encompassing the basic arithmological and
harmonic ratios, dividing the world soul and having metaphysical func-
tions. Platonic passages from the Timaeus and its theory of creation may
even be adduced to illustrate the significance of mathematics for the Py-
thagoreans, for whom the acquisition of knowledge rather mirrors the
character of a religious initiation than that of mere instruction or re-
search. 185

Cf. G. Shaw, Theurgy and the Soul. The Neoplatonism of lamblichus, Pennsylvania
1995, pp. 199-215.

178 Cf. on musical, cosmological harmony and the Tetraktys, see H. Roller, "Harmonie
und Tetraktys", Museum Helveticum 16 (1959), pp. 238-248; A. Delatte, Etudes sur la
Litterature Pythagoricienne, Paris 1915, pp. 253-264; W. Burkert, Lore and Science, pp.
72-73, 186-188.

179 Cf. F. M. Cornford, trans, and comm. Plato's Cosmology: The Timaeus of Plato,
London 1937, reprint New York 1959, pp. 66-72; cf. also G. Shaw, Theurgy and the
Soul, p. 191.

m Cf. W. K. C. Guthrie, History of Greek Philosophy, Cambridge 1967, 1: 167. Ac-
cording to the Pythagorean doctrine, the key to understanding the celestial movements
and the musical scale lies in the establishment of a numerical relation, which was defined
by Plato as the "harmony of the spheres". On the Tetraktys in Proclus' Commentary on
Plato's Cratylus, cf. B. Duvick, Proclus. On Plato's "Cratylus", Ithaca, New York 2007,
pp. 168-169.

l81 Cf. W. K. C. Guthrie, History of Greek Philosophy, Cambridge 1967, 1: 212-226.

182 Cf. J. Thorn, The Pythagorean Golden Verses, Leiden 1995, pp. 174-176; cf. a
similar expression in Aristotle, Metaphysica 987b 28, 1 1 and 986a 1; see W. K. C. Guth-
rie, History of Greek Philosophy, Cambridge 1967, 1: 229, 235 for more examples. With
Aristotle's objection of the Pythagoreans, it becomes clear that for them numbers were at
the same time the material and the forruil causes of things (p. 237).

183 Cf. J. Thorn, The Pythagorean Golden Verses, Leiden/New Ybrk/Koln 1995, p.
187.

184 For example 77m. 35bff.

183 Cf. B. L. van der Waerden, "Die Arithmetik der Pythagoraer", Math. Annalen 120
(1947-9), pp. 680ff. On arithmology in Philo's writings, see H. R. Mohring, "Arithmolo-
gy as an Exegetical Tool in the Writings of Philo of Alexandria", SBL Seminar Papers 13
(1978) 1. 191-229 (repr. in ed. J. P. Kenney, Moehring Memorial Volume, Atlanta 1995).

2.4 Pythagorean and Neoplatonic Background to Gikatilla 's Hermeneutics

Adela Yarbro Collins has already shown possible points of contact be-
tween Judaism and the Pythagorean tradition in Philo 186 and apocalyptic
Jewish literature, 187 esp. in 1 Enoch and the Testament of Abraham. For the
Letter of Aristeas m Katell Bertholet has demonstrated a definite Pythago-
rean influence at an early stage of Jewish literary activity. We must thus
assume a certain Pythagorean influence on both monotheistic religious
groups from an early period onwards. This has been excellently demon-
strated in the studies of Henry Chadwick 189 and Nicholas R. M. De
Lange 1 among others. Beyond doubt, there is an influence of (Neo-) Py-
thagoreanism on Sefer Yetzirah, 191 as Pincheas Mordell has already illus-
trated in his study "A Solution to the Pythagorean Number Philosophy.
Supplement to "The Origin of Letters and Numerals According to the Sefer

On the special case of Philo, see the study of K. Staehle, Die Zahlenmystik bei Phi-
Ion von Alexandreia, Leipzig/Berlin 1931; and D. T. Runia, "Why does Clement of Alex-
andria call Philo 'the Pythagorean'?", Vigiliae Christianae 49 (1995), pp. 1-22. See esp.
in Philo's Op if. 100, Leg. 1.15, QG 1.17, 1.99, 3.16, 3.49, Proh. 2, Aet. 12, where he
mentions explicitly such traditions. However, Runia argues in this article that the epithet
"Pythagorean" may most probably also have included Platonic trends, and an "affinity of
thought" to both Platonic and Pythagorean doctrines. Runia is following G. Sterling's
suggestion in the latter's response to Sterling's article, G. Sterling, "Was Philo a Middle
Platonist? A difficult Question revisited", Studia Philonica Annual 5 (1993), pp. 145—
146, arguing among the same lines. A. Yarbro-Collins calls Philo "a Neo-Pythagorean
with considerable justification", A. Yarbro Collins, "Numerical Symbolism in Jewish and
Early Christian Apocalyptic Literature", ^A^WII. 21.2, Berlin/New York 1984, p. 1256.
On the different presuppositions of Philo and Gikatilla concerning the Torah and the con-
sequences for hermeneutics, cf. A. Yadin, Scripture as Logos. Rabbi Ishmael and the
Origins of Midrash, Philadelphia 2004, pp. 9-10.

187 Cf. A. Yarbro Collins, "Numerical Symbolism in Jewish and Early Christian
Apocalyptic Literature", ANRW 11. 21.2, Berlin/New York 1984, pp. 1253ff.

188 Cf. K. Bertholet, "L 'Interpretation symbolique des lois alimentaires dans la Lettre
d'Aristee: une influence pythagoricienne", Journal of Jewish Studies 52, 2 (2001), pp.
253-268.

189 Cf. H. Chadwick, Early Christian Thought and the Classical Tradition: Studies in
Justin, Clement and Origen, Oxford 1966, 2 1984.

190 Cf. N. R. M. De Lange, Origen and the Jews: Studies in Jewish-Christian Rela-
tions in Third-Century Palestine, Cambridge 1976.

191 Y. Liebes, Ars Poetica in Sefer Yetsira, Tel Aviv 2000 (Hebrew) puts Sefer
Yetzirah in the context of ancient philosophers like Parmenides, Heraclit and Anaximan-
der, p. 43. In his highly interesting remark (p. 271, n. 28) he refers to the double meaning
of gramma in Greek as both element and letter. This was alluded to in the naming of the
God of Israel by the Neoplatonic philosophers like Iamblichus and Proclus as tes
tetrastoichou theos, who named the God of the Jews as the God of the four elements,
which could also refer to the Tetragrammaton as God of the four letters. See also S. M.
Wasserstrom, "Sefer Yesirah and Early Islam. A Reappraisal", Studies in Jewish Thought
and Philosophy 3 (1993), pp. 1-30.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Yetzirah". t92 Another study by Y. Tzvi Langermann 193 examined the Py-
thagorean background of Abraham Ibn Ezra, esp. his elaborations on the
number four. 194 Concerning the number four and the fact that ten is the
sum of the first four numbers = l+M-n+N), Moshe Idel 195 has drawn atten-
tion to the intrinsic connection between the Sod haTefilin and the four
signs in four verses, which are ten (against the evil inclination) according
to Ms New York JTS 1813, fol. 27a. In the manner of Abulafia, the anon-
ymous author refers the Pythagorean stand to the Tefilin and writes:

(35) The secret of four [Scriptures] of the Tefilin refer to the four letters Aleph (1), Bet
(2), Gimel (3), Dalet (4), that are ten, which equal [ten] Sefirot. One should direct his
gaze through them as they oppose the evil inclination (Yetzer haRa' = 575), which has
the Gematria of Tefilin (575), so that one may be enlightened and not feel [bothered by]
the evil inclination.

The basis for this exegesis is the numerical value 575 = rVsrin = inn is 1 ,
which can be found both in Abulafia's Hayyei haNefesh 196 where he places
this issue in a cosmological, epistemological context and the Tetragramma-
ton, and in Sha 'arei Tzedeq, by his student R. Natan ben Sa'adia Har'ar.
Gikatilla combines this "science of numbers" with Togarmi's ideas on
Gematria and the divine name, putting the divine name above the mathe-

IQQ

matical system/order; but the aim of the operation stays the same: the

m Philadelphia 1914.

153 Cf. Y. T. Langermann, "Studies in Medieval Hebrew Pythagoreanism. Translations
and Notes to Nicomachus' Arithmological Texts", Micrologus 9 (2001), pp. 219-236.

|1J4 On this topic see also the relevant passages in K. Staehle, Die Zahlenmystik bei
Philon von Alexandreia, Leipzig/Berlin 1931.

|,J5 Cf. M. Idel, "On the Meaning of the Terra Kabbalah - Between the Ecstatic and
the Sefirotic Schools of Kabbalah in the 13th Century", Pe'amim 93 (2001), pp. 50-51.
On Renaissance elaborations on Pythagorean thought in Jewish and Christian Renais-
sance, esp. in the writings of Johannes Reuchlin, cf. M. Idel, "Introduction to the Bison
Book Edition", in eds. M. and S. Goodman, Johann Reuchlin. On the Art of Kabbala. De
Arte Cabalistica, Lincoln/London 1993, pp. xi-xvi.

196 Ed. A. Gross, Jerusalem 2001, p. 134.

m Ed. Y. E. E. Porush, Jerusalem 1989, p. 9.

198 In an unpublished lecture Cornford once admitted about the Italian school of Py-
thagoreanism: "The antagonism of the many is harmonized and held together by philia in
its unity." Guthrie goes on to comment on this: "Here his [Cornford's] words set one
wondering whether the unity which the Pythagoreans exalted as divine, and held forth as
an example for men to follow, was pchaps not an arche in the full Milesian sense but
rather ... the unity of the complete and perfect cosmos, which because it is a harmonia
deserves above all things the name of God. ... The cosmos, by virtue of its ordered and
beautiful (that is cosmic) nature, is divine. The good is in the end, the telos, not the arche
in the sense of the beginning", W. K. C. Guthrie, History of Greek Philosophy, Cam-
bridge 1967, 1: 250-251; cf. Aristotle, Metaphysica 1072b 30. Also in Gikatilla's
thought the perfect order and unity lies in the outcome of the intellectual activity, not in
its beginning.

2.4 Pythagorean and Neoplatonic Background to Gikatilla's Hermeneutics

human soul 199 and its perfection. This is in perfect harmony with the Py-
thagorean axiom, which states that "soul expresses mathematics in its full-
ness", 200 esp. when soul bestows mathematical measures on the material
realm.

These approaches to mathematics and the soul provide for Gikatilla the
essential code for practising magic, with Town (calculation) as the exegeti-
cal code for interpreting Scripture and its secret layers. The "simple sense
(DWD)" no longer has any function in Gikatilla's new narrative; only the
single words and the atomized numerical value remain of value for the
mystic exegete.

Whereas Rambam advocates a higher narrative of the biblical text - as
for instance in his reading of mm lain (matter and form), Gikatilla de-
stroys the original narrative and atomizes it. The human discourse is inter-
rupted and replaced by linguistic techniques, which transform both the
mystic himself and reality. Other intellectual ideas about language and its
superior source, however, bear traces of Neoplatonic thinking, esp. the
ideas of HDWnn (overflow, influx) within the divine names as explained in
Cinnat 'Egoz.

Gikatilla's concept of emanation from the highest realm is understood
in such a way that a linguistic origin of our reality, which is a reflection of
this higher world here below, emanates from above. Such a concept re-
minds us of similar theories on language as presented in Proclus' Commen-
tary on Parmenides.

We could describe the magic influence, or even magical chain from the
upper, linguistic realm of the names, as an emanation which ends down on
earth with an action changing the natural order of the universe. Unlike
Abraham Ibn Ezra and Yehuda Halevi, in Ibn Ezra's thought the spirituali-
ty of the stars is brought down to earth, and in the teachings of the latter,
where one can embrace the model of emanation assumed in astral magic
while not necessarily assuming the stars to be the source of the emanation,
Gikatilla adds another level to this system, an upper realm of language,
which contains the basic structures of all the lower realms. It is on this lev-

199 On ritual, ecstasy and soul in Pythagorean thought, see J. Thorn, The Pythagorean
Golden Verses, Leiden 1995, pp. 176-177; cf. also W. Burkert, Lore and Science, p. 357;
and idem, "Das Proomium des Parmenides und die Katabasis des Pythagoras", Phronesis
14(1969), pp. 1-30.

200 Cf. P. Merlan, From Platonism to Neoplatonism, The Hague 2 1960, p. 18.

201 Cf. Ginnat 'Egoz, pp. 52-69. See on this topic S. Blickstein, Between Philosophy
and Mysticism, PhD Thesis JTS 1983.

202 Cf. J. Dillon and G. Morrow, Proclus Commentary on Plato's Parmenides, Prince-
ton 1987, pp. 220ff.

203 Cf. Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 294.

2 Tzemfei 'Otiyyot

el that the magician has to exercise his influence and bring about the ema-
nation from above. This phenomenon is well testified in the writings of
Neoplatonic philosophers such as Iamblichus. 204 Gikatilla does not fully
elaborate on such theories in his early treatises. These linguistic aspects
become crucially important, however, in his later works. 205 In contrast to
Ginnat 'Egoz in Gikatilla' s later ideas on theurgy and magic, the sefirotic
world and its proper balance is the object of the mystic's theurgic acts. In
Ginnat 'Egoz the Tiqqun has as its object the proper pronunciation of the
divine name, from where the magic influence is initiated. 205 It should be
the topic of an additional study to compare this form magic with
Nahmanides' theurgic and astral magic. 207

In the third part of Ginnat 'Egoz Gikatilla reaches the most secret point
of his kabalistic system, the point of vocalization. There are several ver-
sions of this part, also printed separately, and one gets the impression that
this topic had occupied Gikatilla' s mind during his entire lifetime. 208 After
emphasizing the importance of the names and the letters in the first two
parts of the book and the application of a radical semantics which "breaks"
up the biblical narrative and replaces it by the new, transforming mystical
narrative, Gikatilla turns in this part to the most secret, inner part of his
linguistic-mystical system, the vocalization of the text. The vowel moves
the word and makes it appear or even exist like the soul moves the body.
He defines in a manner similar to Avicenna's system the inner point as the
most important part of the circle, i.e. the sphere.

On a similar magic act of drawing down divine or demonic sources in a Zohar pas-
sage and Iamblichus' De Mysteriis in addition to other similarities like the name of
Abraham, Av Hainan, and Iamblichus' Abamon, see Y. Liebes, "Zohar and Iamblichus",
Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies 8.18 (2007), pp. 95-100.
05 Cf. the linguistic activities in the introduction of Sha'arei 'Orah.

See Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 294, last three lines: "My brother, you should know that in
fact when an adjuration is correctly stated it binds the supernal [forces] so that they are
obligated to fulfill it. And when the blessed Name is pronounced in a worthy fashion it
never returns bereft [of blessing] but succeeds in that for which it has been sent." The
last sentence refers to the prayer on Posh haShanah, interpreted here as referring to lin-
guistic magic.

207 For an excellent study on Nahmanides' use of magic see D. Schwartz, "From The-
urgy to Magic: The Evolution of the Magical-Talismanic Justification of Sacrifice in the
Circle of Nahmanides and his Interpreters", Aleph 1 (2001), pp. 165-213.

208 Cf. Ms Parma di Rossi 1390, 97v-103r (97a-103b) which might be a possible
source for Gikatilla, as this manuscript was already written in 1286 in Rome. See also E.
Gottlieb, Studies in Kabbalah Literature, Tel Aviv 1976, p. 103, n. 16 (Hebrew).

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

Without the point, the sphere does not exist, and no system can come into
existence. The idea of the primordial point is according to David Neu<-
mark 209 one of the four basic doctrines of Spanish Jewish mysticism. I
suggest that we should refer Gikatilla' s idea on the "inner" or "primordial"
point not only to one single philosophical system, but rather to several var-
iations on that idea in different philosophical schools. His approach seems
to be derived from several intellectual streams, among which we also find
Pythagorean ideas on the point 210 and Gnostic influences, even from the
Pseudo-Clementine Homilies.

For Gikatilla TipJ (vocalization/point) is the. my (essence) of language
and coincidently the ontological system. Gikatilla' s explanations on the
inner point 211 in the Hassagot and in Ginnat 'Egoz 212 lead to an elaborate
theory of Tipin naon (wisdom of the point/vocalization).

209 Cf. D. Neumark, History of Jewish Philosophy, vol. 1, New York 1921, p. 182
(Hebrew).

210 On the "point" in Pythagorean thought see D. J. O'Meara, Pythagoras Revived.
Mathematics and Philosophy in Late Antiquity, Oxford 1989; see for the most elaborate
research on this topic W. Burkert, Weisheit und Wissenschaft. Studien zu Pythagoras,
Philolaos und Platon, Niirnberg 1962, according to the index on "Punkt-Linie-FIache-
Korper", p. 494. On this issue in Neoplatonic thought, esp. the cyclic theory of causation,
see S. Gersh, From Iamblichus to Eriugena: An Investigation of the Prehistory and Evo-
lution of the Pseudo-Dionysian Tradition, Leiden 1978, pp. 45-56, 72-75, 251.

211 Cf. also the later development of "point/center" to "ip n y and the passage in Gikatil-
la's Hassagot, Venice 1601, fol. 29: N'unp tw rhytfi msNff na nnrmn "jd Widu? nnxn tax
■7SN f?in "pan naipi n»yi nvpi mpa ■o .arp ]w^> niti na^n ->s "?s mpn aw noi .ni ins nimi
.rftarr titzn ptnn "ibiVd v^n tsi^h Dipan nt p-iDm nnx ruin (But the truth consists of all the
explanations that we have already stated above, and no question remains unanswered.
And the true secret [meaning] of the [divine] Name Maqom is [that it is related to] the
word existence [Lashon Qiyyum]; thus Maqom and Qiyyum and Qimah and Qomah all
share the same meaning. Throughout this chapter, the Maqom which is alluded to is the
[act of] cleaving to the supernal Name.). See also the remarks of Y. Liebes, Ars Poetica
in Sefer Yetsirah, Tel Aviv 2000, pp. 199-200 on the passages from De Leon and the
relevant footnotes. See A. Farber-Ginat, "A New Fragment from the Introduction by Jo-
seph Gikatilla to Ginnat 'Egoz", Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought 1 (1981), p. 161, n.
6 (Hebrew); cf. the Gematria 3 1 ? = TQ3 (32) in Sefer haBahir, cf. A. Afterman, The Inten-
tion of Prayer in Early Ecstatic Kabbalah, Los Angeles 2004 (Hebrew), p. 74; idem,
"Letter Permutation. Techniques, Kavannah and Prayer in Jewish Mysticism", Journal
for the Study of Religions and Ideologies 6.19 (2007), pp. 52-78; and E. Ginsburg, The
Sabbath in the Classical Kabbalah, Albany 1989, pp. 106-108, 156-157 on the idea of
Shabbat as center point. See also R. Asher ben David: His Complete Works, ed. Daniel
Abrams, Los Angeles 1996, p. lll(Hebrew), M. Idel, "Shabbat: On Concepts of Time in
Jewish Mysticism", in ed. Gerald J. Blidstein, Sabbath. Idea, History, Reality, Be'er
Sheva 2005, p. 73, and our comments earlier in this chapter.

212 Cf. Ginnat 'Egoz, pp. 343-344.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Sha 'ar haNiqqud, p. 35b:

(36) Behold! The letters and the vowel points teach us about some of the supernal forms
and divine qualities. Anyone who enters into the secret of these mysteries will see how
many great mountains (Hararin) are sustained by a hair [i.e. how voluminous secret mat-
ters can be expounded from a few biblical texts, see bHagigah lOa-b] and he will under-
stand things that are considered to be related to the "fire of the world" (Kivshono Shel
'Olam) [i.e. concerning the foundational principles of secret divine knowledge]. Now,
concentrate on the main issue that we have explained to you in [the book] Sha 'arei
Tzedeq concerning the secret of the three uppermost sefirot and see that the innermost
secrets are revealed to you by [understanding] the vowel points. Behold! The Cholam and
the Zeree [i.e. one point above the letter and two points below the letter] both have the
secret qualities of all vocalization points, as they demonstrate the secret of the essence of
the angelic world which possesses a simple structure. They yearn for the highest princi-
ple which is above them, and this is the secret meaning [of the Kedushah prayer in the
Shabbat morning service] ["they make heard a voice] raising themselves towards ...
those facing them, praising and saying ..." [This is to be] understood according to the
[praise of God said earlier during the morning service calling Him] "Exalted and Uplift-
ed" {Ram veNisa).

In this passage, the mystic is initiated into the secrets of the vocalization
points, which represent a higher stage of intellection than the understand-
ing of the three highest sefirot in Sha' arei Tzedeq. The "inner secrets" are
revealed to the reader with the help of the vocalization. In this system, the
Holam is the highest possible "revelation" through which the reader may
comprehend the celestial motions, which are dependent on the vowel
sounds.

Such an understanding of the inner causal relations between language
and cosmos may be attained only by the "hidden" vocalization of the Tet-
ragrammaton, which is the true Ma'aseh Merkavah for the letters.

Sha 'ar haNiqqud, p. 37b:

(37) ... just as [the matter of the] Hashmal comprises the secret of the innermost and the
most sublime comprehension of the Account of the Chariot, so too the letters of the
blessed Name YHWH comprise the secret of the innermost and the most sublime of all
the 22 letters. [This is] because the letters [of the alphabet] are corporeal, substantial, and
revealed in their pronunciation; and they are not hidden. But the [three] letters of
YHWH, may He be blessed, they are concealed [i.e. not articulated] even when they are
guiding and moving [the pronunciation of a word]. When you say 'Ant, Shemi, 'Anokhi,
the letter Yod is hidden and concealed, yet it moves [the vowel]. So too the words She-
mo, 'Atzmo, Beno - wherein the letter Waw is hidden yet moves [the vowel]. But concern-
ing all the other letters you will find rone which moves yet stays hidden except for those
[three - Yod, He, Waw], as all the other letters are expressed and recognizable to all when
they are pronounced.

In contrast to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which are corporeal
and revealed in their pronunciation, the letters of the Tetragrammaton are
hidden, although they are the secret source of all vocal and cosmic motion.

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

The mystic may penetrate into the "soul" of these four letters and reveal
their function within the two realms, the divine linguistic one and the cor-
responding human realm.

In Sha'ar haNiqqud, p. 38a we read:

(38) All the worlds, each according to their kind, are composed of [combinations of]
earth and heaven and heaven and earth. But only the created [world] of heaven and earth
is known to us. Now, according to the path of secret wisdom there is a [sublime] heaven
for [our lower] heaven and a [sublime] earth for [our mundane] earth, this is known on
high as a sublime and hidden secret, which concerns the hidden secrets of the Chariot -
its degrees and its virtues - as well as other deep issues [concerning the Chariot] which
are known to those who enter the inner paradise and who look into the shining mirrors.
From this we learn that Scripture says: "Until you know that heaven is sovereign" (Dan
4: 23) and Solomon cried and said: "O hear in Your heavenly abode (haShamayyim Ma-
khon leShivtekha)" (I Kings 8: 43) and it is from here our sages of blessed memory
taught us to receive the yoke of the kingdom of heaven (bBerakhot 13a). And all the se-
crets are open before you, well known to those who enter into the mystery of the Chariot.
(See also Ramban, Ber. 1: 8)

A person who is initiated into the secret interpretation of the Merkavah (lit.
combination/lat. complexio) may understand the inner secrets of the differ-
ent created, hidden worlds and heavens, as he is able to enter the "inner
Pardes", the knowledge about the vocalization points. He will see the pri-
mordial glory of the creator within his creation. As in the passage at the
end of Sha'ar haNiqqud, here the Segulot are obtained from the "inner
wisdom" regarding the "secret of the secrets of the Merkavah and its gra-
dations". As Gikatilla will describe later in this treatise, this "inner wis-
dom" is that relating to the dynamics inherent within the letters, their souls
- the vocalization points.

Gikatilla's theory here is based on a comparison of the movements of
the vowels of the Tetragrammaton to the limbs of the Merkavah - in corre-
spondence with the motion of the cosmos.

This relationship of "body" and "limbs" is explained in Sha'ar ha-
Niqqud, p. 38a, as follows:

(39) Through these transformative (haHafukhim) [11 letters] the holy language is built
and established, as well as the Torah together with its principles and its structure. For all
the activities that occur in the world, as well as their secrets, are dependent upon these
[11 letters]. Now each and every one of these 11 permutations (Gilgul, metamorphoses)
fulfill a great need, for if one of them was missing its action would be missing as well,
like a person who has no eye or hand or leg or any one of his limbs. So you see, these 1 1
letters move the word (Tevah) in every direction (dimension), but this movement is not
like the movement of the letters of Hashmal as these are the letters YHWH blessed be He
and blessed be His Name, which move the other letters only through the vowels. Since
during their pronunciation (lit. movement) the letters called Hashmal remain hidden, they
are similar to the movement of the intellectual soul that moves the body and remains hid-
den. Thus the pronunciation of the letters of Hashmal remains hidden, like when you say:

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

"Beno, Shemi". As such the letter that receives the vowel [lit. moves] is not pronounced
aloud but hidden and so it stands separately. But those 11 letters called the Living Crea-
tures (Hayyoi) do not cause the others to be pronounced [lit. move the others] unless they
are pronounced with their own vowel. These 1 1 letters are revealed and well known at
the moment they are pronounced, like when you say 'Af'el. The Aleph that moves the
word Pa'el is also pronounced together with the word it moves. And if the Aleph, which
moves the word Pa'el when you say 'Af'el is not itself moved, then the action which is
called 'Af'el will not be put into effect. This is the secret of the verse "And when the Liv-
ing Creatures moved the wheels went by them" (Ez. 1:19). This means that when the Liv-
ing Creatures move the wheels [of the Chariot] move together with them, and so too re-
garding this matter [of the 11 letters]. Contemplate this matter with great understanding,
for it fulfills a great need; from this place you will enter several inner rooms that are im-
possible for a person to enter without a key.

In Ginnat 'Egoz Gikatilla has a similar polemic against the philosophers,
who are only idolaters as they do not have the Torah and will always re-
main outside of true knowledge. On their "exterior wisdom" he writes (p.
343):

(40) . . . they circle around outside the point without attaining the truth, until they tire of
finding the entrance (Petah/Patah) always remaining outside. Therefore our sages of
blessed memory call all wisdom of the gentile sages, those who are worshippers of stars
and planets [i.e. pagans], "exterior wisdom" (Hokhmot Hitzoniyyot), since they do not
possess inner wisdom, which is the wisdom of the Torah, the inner palace. This is the
center point, which is arranged according to the order of the 22 foundational letters,
whose secret is AHWY, Aleph (111), He (15), Waw (13), Yod (20), whose secret [sum] is
point (NQDH = 159).

Only those, who meet two criteria, possessing the Torah and knowing He-
brew, can have access to true wisdom. The pagan philosophers thus mis-
takenly regard the stars as a source of revelation, as they do not have ac-
cess to the inner wisdom, whose innermost point is the Torah. Only those
who know about the organizing principle of reality in the Torah and the
Hebrew language itself can acquire knowledge of the essential correspond-
ing systems, the cosmic and the linguistic realms. The universe may never
be the "real" center of the celestial world, as the cosmos itself is structured
according to the principal structures of the Hebrew language.

In another passage, on the explanation of the Holam, in Ginnat 'Egoz
this approach is illustrated as follows (p. 422):

(41) You must understand this; that the [vowel] point {Holam] cannot be heard [lit.
grasped] if it is not connected to a leuor. This is because the point is [in its essence] intel-
lectual while the letter is [in its essence] sensual. Now since the letter is sensual we can
only pronounce it [lit. enter it] by way of its [vowel] point, which makes it intelligible,
because [the letter] alone cannot bring one to [comprehend] its true meaning. You must
know how to differentiate between the foundation and the building ... Know that in truth

1 Cf. the relevant passage in "Status of the Text".

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

letters do not exist [independently] of vowels, rather punctuation serves as the foundation
of the letter. Consequently, if there are no vowel points the letter itself cannot be [articu-
lated] just as without a foundation there cannot be a building. So too contemplate the
matter of the circle (Galgal), which indicates that any spherical [object] always has a
center point [which serves] as its foundation. Behold! One single, small, subtle point
causes the existence of the circle, just as a point serves as the foundation of an entire
structure. Therefore, there is no round, circular [object] in the world that eludes having a
center point, [rather it is the point] which is the cause of its existence.

All motion is maintained by the Holam, as the vocal sound moves not only
language, but also the entire universe. The Binyyan (building) is not only
the semantic construct but also the construct of the universe, according to
Gikatilla' s third part of Ginnat 'Egoz.

Such ideas regarding the middle point and its surrounding universe remind
one of Sefer haBahir, 14 where the tenth sphere is the inner point of the ten
sefirot. This system is described as a three-dimensional space in connec-
tion with the Torat haShemot, the perception of the Torah as composed
of divine names and the mystic's penetration into the divine by means of
linguistic techniques activated by those names.

In Gikatilla's thought, esp. in Ginnat 'Egoz, it is language itself or more
exactly the linguistic atoms, i.e. the vocalization points, that take the place
of rnwna (thought) of Sefer haBahir. We must also consider R. Ezra's
thoughts on this topic as presented in his commentary on Job 38: 6. 216

2.5.1 Monoimos, the Arab, and the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies

Moshe Idel 217 has drawn attention to ancient Jewish traditions preserved in
Gnostic sources, such as the writings of Monoimos and his view of man as
microcosm in his inherent hierarchy, moving from the monad to the decad,
and the participation of the lower in the higher y]p "7W nnpl (point of the
tittle). I wish here to add a few words on his ideas regarding Iota, the sym-
bol for the perfection of both Man and Son-of-Man, in the Greek alphabet
signifying also the decad, and therefore absolute perfection. It is called 6

1 Cf. §§ 1 16ff, 63, 64 for example.

Cf. A. Afterman, The Intention of Prayer in Early Ecstatic Kabbalah, Los Angeles
2004, pp. 70-73 (Hebrew); more recently, idem, "Letter Permutation. Techniques, Ka-
vannah and Prayer in Jewish Mysticism", Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideolo-
gies 6 .19 (2007), pp. 52-78.

Cf. Ch. Chavel, Kitvei haRamban, Jerusalem 1963, vol. 1, p. 116; cf. also Masehet
Yoma 54b; M. Idel, "Jerusalem in Thirteenth-Century Jewish Thought", in eds. Y. Prawer
and H. Ben-Shammai, The History of Jerusalem: Crusades and Ayyubids - 1099-1250,
Jerusalem 1991, pp. 268-269 (Hebrew).

217 Cf. M. Idel, "Sefirot above the Sefirot", Tarbiz 51 (1982), p. 276 (Hebrew); and
more recently idem, Absorbing Perfections, pp. 239-243.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Kupicx; api9uo<;, because it comprises every single number (although Mo-
noimos is well aware of the fact that the decad is called the perfect num-
ber, thanks to the Pythagorean holy Tetraktys). He refers in his letter to
Theophrastus on the New Testament, 218 namely Matt. 5:18: "the smallest
letter or a tip (apex) of it only". This apex he understands as a Hendiadys
and he builds his theology on the image of Iota as representing both Man
and Son-of-Man. In the Roman alphabet, this letter represents the monad
and reflects the unity of the All in the supreme God-Man. In the Greek al-
phabet, however, the same Iota resembles the decad, thus manifesting the
plurality, multiplicity and totality of the All, comprised in the same prime-
val supra-cosmic Man. lota is therefore the ideal representative for the
transition from monad to decad. In the lota's reference to Jesus as the su-
per-cosmic Son-of-Man the Iota takes its place beneath the supreme Man,
but above the creation, as the source of creation. From this source, the
Son-of-Man must "flow down" in this cosmos, just as does a vertical
stroke of lota. In several other passages of this letter, Monoimos empha-
sizes that this cosmos is derived from a part of the Son-of-Man, that ideal
Iota or perfect decad, comprising in itself plurality, multiplicity and full-
ness. Furthermore, the four elements are derived from the Iota-Decad.
Consequently, they are reducible to numbers comprised in the prefect
decad (8.14.2). However, the perfect Son-of-Man is only the source of cre-
ation, but not its agent.

I suggest that the letter Iota be referred to also as a primordial point
from which creation starts and by which man may finally overcome corpo-
real reality by introspective return to his "inner self', 219 the representation
point of Son-of-Man within the individual. 220 I wish to demonstrate that in
ancient Jewish traditions too, a linguistic means, a vocal letter, can become
a symbol for the whole creational process and man's return to his "inner
self as an act of redemption.

Shlomo Pines has fruitfully examined the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies
as a possible source of influence on ancient Jewish mystical traditions. It is
therefore essential to bear in mind his elaborations in these writings on the
topic of spatial extension of the point in the process of emanation, when
examining the mystical ideas on "point, language and universe".

218 Cf. on this letter M. Marcovich, "Monoimus' Letter to Theophrastus", in idem,
Studies in Graeco-Roman Religions and Gnosticism, Leiden 1988, pp. 134-143.

219 On the spatial dimension of imagination we will come back in the next chapter.

220 Cf. M. Marcovich, "Monoimus' Letter to Theophrastus", pp. 142-143. We should
keep this in mind when examining Gikatilla's ideas on the "inner point" in Sha'arei
'Orah and the hylomorphic structure enwrapping the mystic during his prayer. Also the
"embodiment of the text" starts in its final analysis from the vocalization point.

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

Pines cites the following passage as having a significant bearing on
the history of the conception of the sefirot as formulated in Sefer Yetzirah.
I suggest that it is possible not only to compare this passage with the ideas
on the sefirotic structure as presented in Sefer Yetzirah, but also with
Gikatilla's speculations in Ginnat 'Egoz on the primordial point and its
spatial extensions. It is self-evident that Gikatilla, when he wrote his Gin-
nat 'Egoz as a commentary on Sefer Yetzirah, based his work on the Jew-
ish "Vorlage". However, I am persuaded that he also had other traditions at
his disposal, as he does not in his early period channel his doctrines into
the sefirotic system.

And preceding from Him [i.e., from God], as from the Center, an Essence abounding in
life-giving and incorporeal force traverses all things, the stars and the abodes of the
heaven, the water, the earth, the fire and whatever else, if anything exists. [This Essence]
is infinite in [the direction of] height, limitless in [the direction of] depth, immeasurable
in [the direction of] breadth, and extends thus in a threefold manner into the infinite, life-
creating and rational nature [that proceeds] from Him. For that [which proceeds] from
Him must necessarily be infinite on all sides, having as its heart Him who in reality is in
[His] shape above all things; wherever He may be, he is, as it were, in the infinite as [its]
midmost [point], 222 being the limit of the All. Therefore the Extensions (eKTCtaEic,), which
start out from Him, have the nature of six limitless [ones]. One of them, proceeding from
Him as its starting point (xfyv cipxTJv), goes on toward the height above, another toward
the depth below, [the third] towards the right, [the fourth] towards the left, [the fifth]
forwards, [the sixth] backwards, [and] he, looking upon them as upon a number 223 that is
equal to all sides, completes the cosmos by means of six intervals of time, He being the
Repose (avdnauan;), and having the Aeon-to-come as [His] image; He is the Beginning
and the End. For in Him the six infinite [ones] end, and from Him they take their exten-
sions towards the infinite. This is the mystery (u.uoTfjpiov) of Seven. 224

I follow the translation of Pines in his article, "Points of Similarity between the
Exposition of the Doctrine of the Sefirot in the Sefer Yetzira and a Text of the Pseudo-
Clementine Homilies: The Implications of this Resemblance", in eds. W. Z. Harvey and
M. Idel, Studies in the History of Jewish Thought by Shlomo Pines, Jerusalem 1997, pp.
94-173. For the Greek text I have consulted the edition of B. Rehm, Die Pseudoklemen-
tinen. I: Homilien, Berlin 1969.

222 Cf. B. Rehm, Die Pseudoklementinen I: Homilien, Berlin 1969, p. 234: "(be, tv
aneipep uiaoc, £otiv". Cf. this idea with a more anthropomorphic phrasing in the writings
of the Neoplatonic Marius Victorinus, Adversus Arium iv: 24: dictus est et sedere quasi
in centro ton panton onton; see S. Pines, "Points of Similarity between the Exposition of
the Doctrine of the Sefirot in the Sefer Yetzira and a Text of the Pseudo- Clementine
Homilies: The Implications of this Resemblance", in eds. W. Z. Harvey and M. Idel,
Studies in the History of Jewish Thought by Shlomo Pines, Jerusalem 1997, p. 132.

223 I want to suggest such an idea on number as a concentrate of spatial extension as
one of the basic thoughts for linguistic techniques influencing the cosmic structure.

224 Cf. S. Pines, "Points of Similarity between the Exposition of the Doctrine of the
Sefirot in the Sefer Yetzira and a Text of the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies: The Implica-
tions of this Resemblance", in eds. W. Z. Harvey and M. Idel, Studies in he History of

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Pines has carefully examined the common traditions in the Pseudo-
Clementine Homilies and Sefer Yetzirah. What is of interest for our analy-
sis is the description of the divine as "the center/midmost point of the infi-
nite, and the starting point for all six expansions". In another passage from
St. Ephraem's Refutations, the author emphasizes, in a polemic against
Mani and Bardaisan, the superiority of God over Space: "... because He is
His own Space. Far greater are the praises which Bardaisan uttered con-
cerning Space than those whi<;h he uttered concerning the God [who is] in
the midst of Space, praises which are not suitable for Space". 225 Pines has
shown that according to both St. Ephraem and Bardaisan, Space has one
all-important trait: it is said to encompass God. However, according to St.
Ephraem, God is superior to Space, although it encompasses Him. 227 Both
the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies and St. Ephraem solve the problem of su-
periority as between God and infinite space by placing the divine in space
as its center and origin. Although Space does encompass the midmost
point, it is dependent on it.

Gikatilla transfers to language this idea of the divine as the primordial
point and center, i.e. to the vocalization point as the "intellectual point"
(n 1 ^© rmp3), which can never be grasped.

In Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 422, he comments on the Cholam as the center and
origin of all motion:

(42) You should not think that we have the intellectual capability to comprehend the true
essence of the blessed One. Rather, it is through contemplation of His actions and quali-
ties that one may enter into investigation of His true being. It is incumbent upon you to
understand this; that you will never grasp the [meaning of the] point except when it is
connected to a letter, because the point is intellectual and the letter is sensual ... Behold!
The Holam-pomt is a testimonial to the truth [of this matter] since it is the beginning of
all articulation [hence motion] and the foundation point of every sphere/circle ... for it is
not possible for you to enter into [an understanding of] the intelligibilia (haMuskalot),

Jewish Thought by Shlomo Pines, Jerusalem 1997, pp. 1 10-1 1 1 . Compare to this passage
also Ginnat 'Egoz, pp. 226-228 on seven, Shabbat and BGD KPRT.

225 Cf. the text in ed. C. W. Mitchell, St. Ephraim's Prose Refutations of Mani, Mar-
cion and Bardaisan. Vol. I: The Discourses addressed to Hypatius, London 1912, p. xcvi.
Cf. S. Pines, "Points of Similarity between the Exposition of the Doctrine of the
Sefirot in the Sefer Yetzira and a Text of the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies: The Implica-
tions of this Resemblance", in eds. V. Z. Harvey and M. Idel, Studies in the History of
Jewish Thought by Shlomo Pines, Jerusalem 1997, pp. 108-109.

227 It will be highly interesting to compare this discussion with the kabbalistic formu-
lation ipin <vpa no (secret of the encompassing and the encompassed). However here is
not the opportunity for such an examination. One should also concern the text of Maxi-
mus Confessor on this topic, quoted by S. Gersh, From Iamblichus to Eriugena: An In-
vestigation of the Prehistory and Evolution of the Pseudo-Dionysian Tradition, Leiden
1978, p. 231.

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

which are the secrets of punctuation, without the help of the order [system] of sensibilia
(haMurgashot), which are the letters.

Only with the help of the sensibilia, the letters, can the mystic gain
knowledge of the intelligibilia, the vocalization-points. The center-point is
the origin of every circle, every sphere, and the whole universe. The anal-
ogy with the divine is established in a subsequent step:

(43) And you must contemplate the secret of one point, which is the beginning of all the
points and the foundation of all movements: the Holam point. This point bears witness to
Him, blessed be He, who is unique, as you will see that it [the Holam] is also unique and
He is above all and He maintains all, just as you will see that it [the Holam] is above all
letters and carries all the letters ... and you should know that the Holam point is the
foundation of the upper world, just as the Holam is on high and pure intellect and the
essence of wisdom, such that it moves the world of the intellect, which is the upper world
and this is the world of the intellect. You must contemplate this issue which we have ex-
plained very deeply, and from it you will comprehend an honorable issue and a wondrous
secret, as the points are adjacent as against the upper foundations and the middle ones
and the lower ones. 228

The Holam as the highest possible sign in the Hebrew language signifies
the divine, the center of the tenth sphere, the intellect. Here Gikatilla trans-
fers a graphic, linguistic sign to the intellectual universe. Through the vo-
calization-point the kabbalist is able to comprehend the highest sphere and
come closest to the divine intellect. To the three spheres of Holam, Shuruq
and Hiriq, Gikatilla returns in the third gate of Ginnat 'Egoz.

We will confirm these ideas on the "inner point" 229 in the passages ad-
duced in the next paragraph.

2.5.2 The Function of Vocalization in Ginnat 'Egoz

The three different positions of the vocalization-point of Holam, Shuruq
and Hiriq correspond to the three different worlds in their hierarchical
structure. Without the vocal -"movement" there is no essehce (ass). Just as
the whole world is in a dynamic process, so language moves in an analo-
gous process and enables the mystic to understand his world. Thus every
change in our world is dependent on changes in the upper, linguistic world,
represented in the different vocalizations. Gikatilla describes his analogous
system as follows {Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 460):

228 Cf. Ginnat 'Egoz, pp. 422^123.

229 An interesting variant of the Neoplatonic idea on the center point as soul of the
universe is found in the writings of R. Yehuda Moscato, esp. in his seventh and eight
homily in Nefuzot Yehuda, Venice 1589, pp. 93-100; cf. on that Renaissance philosopher
and his ideas on inner point and Keter, M. Idel, "Judah Moscato: A Late Renaissance
Jewish Preacher", in ed. D. Ruderman, Preachers of the Italian Ghetto, Berkeley/Los
Angeles/Oxford 1992, pp. 41-66, esp. n. 66, 67.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

(44) Know, my brother, and may God guard you, as this gate we have explained is des-
tined to let you know the meaning of those two points called Patah and Qamaz. They are
the secret of the worldly motion and we have already explained that those three points are
unique: Ho lam, Shuruq, Hiriq are the order of the foundation; and the three kinds of
points that follow them are Zeree, Segol, Shewa: they are the order of the building.

For Gikatilla the yn (building) is the man rrnoa ms-in (construction
around the center) and without the movement of the vowels, the function
of the vocalization, there is no essence in either world. The dynamic "con-
struct" of the world corresponds to the dynamics of language: through lan-
guage, the mystic is able to understand the world. Vocalization is the prin-
ciple, which includes and embraces everything (p. 460):

(45) Indeed after the foundation and the building the motion is extended (Nimshekhet)
and to it [the motion] two kinds of points testify, which are Patah and Qamaz, one opens
and the other closes. And for that reason you must contemplate and see that the point is
intended to contain all the foundation by way of foundation and building and motion.

The vowel point opens and closes a corresponding movement in both
realms and with the help of the right explanation of this dynamic process,
the mystic may enter the upper realm and understand that all "forms" 230 are
merely an apotheosis of the vocal movements, setting in analogous motion
the linguistic and ontological systems. The vowel point is the starting-point
and the aim of the linguistic process, which leads to understanding of the
divine order. The "inner point" resembles the entire Torah, of which only
the initiated will acquire understanding, never the philosophers. Only he
who bases his wisdom on the Torah will receive full understanding of di-
vine matters. In Ginnat 'Egoz Gikatilla expresses this superiority over phi-
losophy as follows (pp. 340-34 1): 231

(46) All science that has no foundation and no stability ... Thus the true and correct
foundation is for intellectual wisdom to be based upon the foundation of the Torah,
which has always been the foundation of the intellect, since she was with Him as a confi-
dant {be'Amanah 'ho) 232 All intellectual wisdom that the truth attests to has, without a
doubt, the faithful Torah as its primary foundation. When we speak with wisdom accord-
ing to the intellect, we rely upon the foundation of truth which is the Torah ... However,
the wisdom of the philosophers is according to the intellect and not the foundation, for
since they have no Torah from heaven, upon what can they found the foundations of the
intellect? Their edifice has no stability without the foundation that is received from the
source of the intellect, which is the foundation of the Torah ... Therefore we say that
when the philosophers speak about astronomical matters, they have no power to enter

Cf. Gikatilla's elaborations on the relation between form and letter in Sha'ar ha-
Niqqud, p. 38a.

Cf. E. Peleg, Between Philosophy and Kabbalah. The Criticism of Jewish Philoso-
phy in The Thought of Rabbi Shem-Tov Ben Shem-Tov, PhD Thesis University of Haifa
2002, p. 174 (Hebrew).
232 Cf. Prov. 8: 30.

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

into the inner foundation, which is the foundation of the Torah. They are all outside.
They have "reached the birth stool, but the strength to give birth is lacking", 233 since they
have nothing upon which to rely. In the culmination of their investigation, they circle
fruitlessly, and they never attain the inner point, which is the point of the Torah, as it is
said, "they are both dull and foolish," (Jer. 10: 8), which is to say, all of the wise men of
the gentile nations move about the circumference of the circle, and their intention is to
attain the inner point, and they have nothing upon which to rely in order to know that
point, since the Torah has not been transmitted to them ... Through all of this they reach
the King's house, but they do not enter even the gate house, since they have no Torah.
However, Israel, made distinct and unique as His portion, may He be blessed, knows the
wisdom of the Torah and bases intellectual wisdom upon it, for the Torah" is the source
from which all sciences flow, and therefore they are able to attain the truth of unity. 234

Later on, Gikatilla defines Torah not as a historical, narrative or sociologi-
cal order, but as the order of the letters. What is called the "inner point" is
defined as a purely linguistic issue, and not something on a semantic level
(p. 343):

(47) Indeed the sages of the nation, the natural philosophers, while never being able to
reach the true foundation, they do not have the Torah and they circle around on the out-
side of the point without attaining the truth and they get tired of finding the entrance (Pe-
tah/Patah) and always remain outside. Therefore our sages of blessed memory call all
wisdom of the gentile sages, the worshippers of stars and planets, exterior wisdom
(Hokhmot Hitzoniyyot), because they do not possess the inner wisdom, the wisdom of the
Torah, the inner palace. This is the center point, which is arranged according to the order
of the 22 foundational letters, whose secret is 'HWY, Aleph (111), He (15), Waw (13),
Yod (20), whose secret (sum) is point (NQDH = 159). And therefore 'HWY 235 is the se-
cret of the 22 letters, which are the foundation of our Torah as one point, and so our en-
tire Torah is called one point. Just as you find the point of every circle in its center, such
is this point, our Torah, in the innermost center.

Here Gikatilla transfers the Torah to a purely linguistic plane where only
the letters and the vowels have any meaning; the words no longer. The
"inner point" resembles the mystical knowledge of the Hebrew letters,

'Cf. II Kings 19: 3; Is. 37:3.

234 The English translation follows H. Lachter, "Kabbalah, Philosophy, and the Jew-
ish-Christian Debate: Reconsidering the Early Works of Joseph Gikatilla", Journal of
Jewish Thought and Philosophy 16. 1 (2008), p. 17 (pp. 1-58). This article has a detailed
investigation on Gikatilla's relationship to both philosophy and Christian writers and
offers interesting new insights, also on Gikatilla's understanding of the sefirot and the
linguistic techniques in Ginnat 'Egoz . See also his translation of the poetic introduction
of Ginnat 'Egoz pp. 5-7.

235 Cf. M. Idel, Language, Torah, and Hermeneutics, p. 101. The entire Torah, the 22
letters of the Hebrew alphabet are concentrated in the combination of the two divine
names run 1 and mrm which are combined as 'ins whose numerical value is 22. Gikatilla is
working here on an Abulafian basis, but extends his theory to a purely linguistic realm,
where the entire Torah consists of "pure" Hebrew letters and the mystic may recombine
them and gain knowledge on the divine sphere.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

which are exemplified in the Torah. Their order, however, is not fixed, but
will be rearranged according to the linguistic techniques of the initiated.
Such an elitist wisdom goes far beyond the wisdom of the philosophers
and magicians in Gikatilla's cultural surroundings. 236
The mystic himself is transformed into the center of this inner point, as
Gikatilla goes on to say (p. 343):

(48) We have already spoken at great length in this book to strengthen our claims that all
the foundations of the world are founded upon the Torah of God, 237 for it is this which
teaches us the path of life and makes known to us the path of the intellect by way of the
true foundation, which is the foundation of the Tetragramaton, upon which the entire
world depends ... Those who know the Torah {Yod'ey haTorah) attain God [haShem]
may He be blessed, face to face, since they are in the center (ssas) of the point that is the
sacred inner courtyard, while the rest of the nations circle the perimeter that surrounds
the point, and remain outside. 238

I might suggest that Gikatilla is playing here with the double meaning of
37X»N as both "center" and "means/instrument". With the help of "punctua-
tion" as a linguistic mystical activity, the kabbalist can reach the center of
divine wisdom and become a true "initiate 239 of the Torah", which may
point to the sexual connotation of the root nm 1 ? 240 (to know). The nations
think they move around the center, but in fact they are standing outside.
Only those inside the inner palace do in fact move around the center.

Blickstein has shown in his thesis that in Ginnat 'Egoz Gikatilla also
propounded a mystical theory of the Torah which confirms that the Torah,
in its primordial form, is reducible to the primordial point or the divine
name. The Torah emanated from the letters of the divine name just as
the physical universe did in its formative state. Through the techniques of

In Sha'arei Tzedeq Gikatilla combines this idea of the "inner point" and letter
combination with his weaving metaphor of the divine names, Sha'arei Tzedeq, p. 26a. Cf.
"Status of the Text".

Cf. G. Scholem, "The Meaning of the Torah in Jewish Mysticism", in ed. L. Fine,
Essential Papers on Kabbalah, New York 1995, pp. 187-188.

238 Cf. H. Lachter, "Kabbalah, Philosophy, and the Jewish-Christian Debate", p. 29;
and the reference to E. R. Wolfson, Venturing Beyond, pp. 101-103.

Cf. the frequent occurrence of Le 'orer in the sense of "to initiate".

On this root and sexual metaphors, Cf. D. Abrams, "Knowing the Maiden without
Eyes: Reading the Sexual Reconstruction of the Jewish Mystic in a Zoharic Parable",
Da 'at 50-52 (2003), pp. lix-lxxxiii.

241 On that issue see also H. Lachter, "Kabbalah, Philosophy, and the Jewish-Christian
Debate", pp. 19-23. in d"71b nn Vn n^iv to .nna o^ns eppnti? nou irrr?N 'D 'ti 1 i 1 ? si
m -iitfx ,;ismnn nrrnD no xin nns mp:n T\p3n o ,^m -paw tin -p? S7 .nns Vint bu nsmnn
linoi .ranir -nnnn 1 ? D"iN-im .men 1 tidh 1 ? cimm ,rrmxn *?? tvdx'i cnmn "73 mair
.inx nm 1 ? ^nan rw inn 1 ? nnix N^am ,iv\s 'rr awn nvunn

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

letter combination, both the secrets of the universe and the secrets of the
Torah may be obtained.

In medieval geometry, the point describes the line, the line defines the
circle, but one can never define the point as a static entity, but only as
something in motion according to the Pythagorean theory of cosmic mo-
tion. Gikatilla is trying here to transfer geometrical principles to language,
using both Pythagorean and Neoplatonic parameters. With the help of the-
se systems, which were very popular in his intellectual environment, he
creates a new theory, describing the linguistic process as reflecting the di-
vine system. God is simultaneously the starting point and the aim of this
mystical linguistic undertaking. Therefore, the most appropriate geometric
figure is the point, to describe His function/activity in both corresponding
systems. He is the center from which everything starts; He is the One who
is found everywhere, but at the same time is nowhere. Gikatilla builds a
mystical bridge between the point and the vocalization point and reveals
the analogous dynamic procedures with the help of which the mystic can
enter the divine world. He explains that all depends on motion in an Aris-
totelian sense {Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 460, for the Hebrew text see n. 241):

(49) Know my brother, may God guard you, that the point called Patah is the secret of
the beginning {Petihah) of motion by which all things become clear and all forms can be
grasped, and those that are destined to separate separate and those foreseen to connect
connect. And out of the motion the Name, blessed be He, operates and creates it [the mo-
tion] to unite the tabernacle ( 'Ohel) to be one.

Gikatilla does not present here a new cosmological perspective for his
time, but relates the existing theories of cosmos to language and the divine
activities. This can be observed already from the outer literal form of Gin-
nat 'Egoz. The second part of this book, which deals with cosmological
and creational issues, is framed by two parts on linguistic aspects, contain-
ing a considerable amount of Tzerufei 'Otiyyot. The middle part, however,
uses hardly any linguistic techniques such as those mentioned above.

We may therefore assume that Gikatilla used material already well
known in his time and gave it a new frame based on linguistic procedures.
One explanation for this could be that Gikatilla first wrote the middle part
of Ginnat 'Egoz and later extended it with the outline of his theories con-
cerning language, turning this text into a treatise on Ginnat: Gematria, No-
tarikon and Temurah.

It would be profitable to compare Gikatilla's ideas on the cosmos and
its spherical motion with the medieval commentaries in the Arabic world
on the Aristotelian writings. Of special interest could be a comparison with
the Arabic translation of Alexander of Aphrosidias' On the Cosmos and

; Cf. S. Blickstein, Between Philosophy and Mysticism, 1983, p. 125.

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Averroes' commentaries on Aristotle's De Caelo and his Metaphysica
(esp. A ). Both the position of Aristotle and the implications of Neoplaton-
ic thought would lead to a promising encounter between Jewish writers and
the authors of the commentaries on Plato's Timaeus, Parmenides and the
Pseudo-Aristotelian Theology of Aristotle. This must, however, remain a
stimulus for further research; at present, the topic under examination is
Gikatilla's interpretations of these issues.

According to Gikatilla and other kabbalists of his school, God carries out
His creative work within the axioms of language, and the mystic who has
the correct knowledge of those axioms can comprehend the divine order
and its dynamics. These are the keys for a proper understanding of the in-
nermost divine secrets and they enable the mystic to exercise an influence
on the procedures of cosmology and magic.

It is possible, starting with the point, to re-create all the geometrical
forms (point, line, plane, body) and to "finish/complete" 243 (xin aiui
-ittun) the divine creation through language. In contrast to the Pythagorean
position, where creation is explained as a progress from point, to line,
plane and space, 244 in Gikatilla's treatise it is language itself which gives
creation its meaning and is able to reverse the process, recalling a structure
similar to the Neoplatonic construct of reversio, Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 460.

(50) And with this method we enter into its investigation; you should know that the
Patah is Petah Tiqwah [lit. entrance of hope] and it is in the form of a continuous line,
which means it is not in [the form of] the fundamental points and the points of the build-
ing, as the points are the beginning of motion and its end (Qemitzah), and the motion
starts with Patah and ends with Qamaz. And you have to know that all created beings are
contained in the secret of Patah and Qamaz, each one according to its motion, which is a
very subtle motion and a very corporeal (Gas) motion and a very straight motion and a
very deep motion. And as this Patah is indeed an open thing you will find that there is
nothing except for a straight expanding line. And the secret of its being is called Patah,
which moves the heavenly constellation (Tzava'), as the heavenly constellation has no
existence without motion, as motion leads to their manifestation, all according to their
kind (be'Isheihem), and from the beginning of the motion all material and measurable
beings exist. And indeed you must know that motion always surrounds the circle in a
straight way as the line that turns into the area. And you have to know and reflect [con-
template] that the all encompassing circle (sphere) is the Galgal 'Aravot.

Gikatilla introduces here in his consideration on language cosmological
theories regarding the spheres and their motion. The celestial world can

Cf. within the last passage in Sha'arei 'Orah, where Gikatilla writes: ami mpm,
Sha'arei OrahU: 130.

Cf. W. Burkert, Weisheit unci Wissenschaft, Nurnberg 1962, pp. 58-59. Cf. H.
Lewy, Chaldean Oracles and Theurgy, Paris 1978, pp. 394-396. Cf. also Ginnat 'Egoz
p. 422. '

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

never be imagined without motion, deriving from the highest sphere, the
seventh, which is also named the "?Dwn bi!n (sphere of the intellect). In our
passage, he calls it mms? "ji 1 ?!, according to Ma 'aseh Merkavah. As he es-
tablishes an analogy between the two systems, the cosmological and the
linguistic, Gikatilla tries to show that the upper spheres are under the do-
minion of the linguistic one. He attempts, as did the Pythagoreans, 4 to
explain the coming into being and existence of the cosmos in number as a
linguistic value, or geometrical form. He combines here Togarmi's ideas
on language with cosmology, stressing also the magical influence of the
divine name. As the divine name also contains the vowel Qamaz, which
signifies a circular motion already in its outer appearance, this name can be
used to exert magical power by activating its inherent motion. Using the
idea of the point as a symbol for geometry in general, Gikatilla describes
the deity as the source of all motion, i.e. being which never remains static.
The change in form from point to line and circle can also be reversed, from
Patah as line to Qamaz as circle.

Another important aspect is the extension of the Pythagorean Tetraktys
into a special construct: 247 the point flows into the line, the line into the
plane and the plane into the three-dimensional body or space. It should be
borne in mind that in each successive degree of the Tetraktys the superior
dimension becomes the principle (arche) of the subsequent level and mani-
fests its specific logos in its descent. Descent is regarded as something
positive as long as it is measured: in the same way as creation, when the
generation of the world was the result of descending divine powers. This is
also an important point in Pythagorean thinking, where the 7iepac; defines
the ouoia of a thing and the point is the defining character for harmony.
We should also bear in mind that the theurgist in the cosmos of Iamblichus
embraces the Unlimited (to apeiron) in his descent/embodiment by assum-
ing the rOle of the Limit (peras), when he finds in theurgy the means for
his soul to participate in "genesis" at the highest possible level. Only by
flowing into apeiron could the theurgist remain peras. Only by measuring

But it remains unclear where this motion is finally coming from. This might also
refer to the Aristotelian theory that time is dependent on motion. But as God does not
have motion, the concept of time does not apply to him. Gikatilla never gets tired of em-
phasizing the fact that the divine remains outside of the motion created by the cosmos
and language. See a similar idea in Pythagorean number-theory; cf. W. Burkert, Weisheit
und Wissenschaft, Nurnberg 1962, p. 44; cf. also R. Sorabji, Matter, Space and Motion,
London 1988.

246 Cf. Burkert, Weisheit und Wissenschaft, Nurnberg 1962, p. 35.

247 Cf. G. Shaw, Theurgy and the Soul, pp. 213-215.

248 See W. Burkert, Weisheit und Wissenschaft, Nurnberg 1962, pp. 38 and 68ff (on
Cosmos)

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

himself in matter can he participate directly in the immaterial forms. 249 I
think that we may compare these ideas of measure and rule with Gikatilla's
ideas on the vowels and their function in language. The point and the num-
ber of the letter are correctly captured in kabbalistic terms only if the pro-
cess of Tzeruf is "measured" and regulated according to certain linguistic
rules, into which Gikatilla tries to initiate his reader.

This symbol, i.e. the point, also reflects the correspondence of form and
matter: the line, which limits matter, 250 seems to reflect a Neoplatonic idea
of reversio. The point expands to a line 251 and returns to the point. 252 In
other statements in Ginnat 'Egoz 253 the point expands to the line, to the
plane and finally to the body, thereby signifying the complete geometrical
order of the universe, Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 461: 254

(51) And what you have to know is that the opening (Petihah) is a straight line (Fatah)
and the closing is a line and a point (Qamaz). This point testifies to the fact that the circle
ends its motion by returning to the point which was the cause of its existence, since it
starts from a point and by a point it concludes. And the one that causes its existence is
the one that concludes (haGomer). And in this way you have to contemplate that the fun-
damental point is determined to be three as against three worlds. And the punctuation
teaches about the building in this way. Indeed the punctuation instructs about the motion
which-is sufficient with two [letters], as this is the way of beginning the motion and its
perfection. And after we have referred to this a little bit, we have to come back and initi-
ate you into the punctuation which teaches about the secret of closure, with the help of
Shaddai.

"Substituting reality" for geometry of language Gikatilla may gain total
control over reality via language. If the vowel point is considered as the

Cf. G. Shaw, Theurgy and the Soul, p. 215.

25U Cf. our comments on "order" above.

51 Cf. also a similar idea found in Abulafia's 'jDtt'n TIN (Light of the intellect), where
Abulafia is talking about the Qamaz becoming a Holam in a very quick movement { nffun
niTnan n ,l ?Dro mna) and returning to be a Qamaz, ed. A. Gross, Jerusalem p. 97, 98, 100.
This vocalization movement is even prior to the natural movement. See also the idea on
Ipia tv» iio on page 99: p "5S1 is "?aa m TP» "itiw Vnan nns"? naim sin ipia pp inn "731
.D'rnn nimn nnnnm .n^ion aid diqid ybvn rrrri ^pnn ]rbm nmo"? mm nizm mipjn

252 Cf. the idea on the expansion from mip] to now to nil in Ginnat 'Egoz.

253 Cf. the first body to be formed in Pythagorean theory of cosmogenesis is described
as unfolding the dimensions of point to line to plane to volume, with the pyramid as the
first body; cf. H. Lewy, Chaldean Oracles, pp. 394-396.G. Shaw, Theurgy and the Soul,
p. 210. See also the pyramid as a three dimensional body in the weaving metaphor at the
beginning of Sha 'arei 'Orah.

Johannes Reuchlin repeats exactly this idea in his De verbo mirificio and uses the
numerical value four as a sign for life in correlation with the four letters of the Tetra-
grammaton, De verbo mirificio, in Samtliche Werke, Vol. I, 1, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt
1996, pp. 262—263. Cf. also W. Schmidt-Biggemann, "Johannes Reuchlin und die Anfan-
ge der christlichen Kabbala", in idem (ed.), Christliche Kabbala. Pforzheimer Reuchlin-
schriften Bd. 10, Stuttgart 2003, pp. 14-15.

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

center (like the deity is the center), it can influence the geometric-cosmic
point, i.e. reality, and exercise magic. The circular movement recalls the
Shmittot mentioned above and defines the general context of this passage.
With new vocalization, the mystic can create a new reality, extending and
concentrating the vocalization point to line or circle (i.e. to other vowels).
Additionally, Zeree and Segol are included as run mm (instructor of the
building). With the two basic vowels, Patah and Qamaz, the mystic is able
to vocalize every word and bring about its motion, its reality. The encom-
passing function of the circle, the Qamaz, is described in the passage that
follows the text cited above. The cyclic motion of extension and concentra-
tion reminds us also of the breathing of a living organism. Language, as a
dynamic, living process, reflects and is able to influence the cosmic cyclic
motion, and even the deity. However, Gikatilla always emphasizes the su-
premacy of language over these other realms, and comes close to the no-
tion of the deity as encompassed by or encoded in language. 255 We could
also regard this obsession with language as mediating between human and
divine as a harsh critique of Rambam's description of language as idolatry,
creating a deceiving anthropomorphic picture of God. 5 Consequently, in
the case of Gikatilla the mystical exegesis may also be seen as "encoding"
the deity into language by creating the relevant corresponding systems.

We could also call this structure a principle of "cosmic semiotics", in
which the reader may elicit from the text or even the vocalization point as
taxonomy of embodiment. Here the materiality of body is constituted by
underlying letter permutations, subatomic linguistic structures, edifices
constructed dynamically from the different combinations and vocalizations
of the consonants, invisible to normal sight.

The magical use of Gematria as the newly created narrative is repre-
sented in this process as replacing the historical narrative, where this pow-
er was exercised by God. Now, the "real" nra win (people of measures),
those people who know how to use numerical magic correctly, conquer the
city of the enemy and "replace" the divine power (on basis of the Gematria

255 Cf. M. Idel, Language, Torah, and Hermeneutics. It will be a very interesting pro-
ject to compare such encoding system with the move in modern linguistic theory towards
"codes" like in the writings of Roland Barthes and Umberto Eco.

256 See Guide of the Perplexed 1: 50-60, where actually the entire first part of this
book is dealing with the connection between language and the erroneous picture of God.
On this passage and negative theology, see M. Halbertal and A. Margalit, Idolatry, trans.
N. Goldblum, Cambridge, Mass./London 1992, pp. 152-159, see also pp. 54-62 on the
problem of metaphors referring to God. Gikatilla does by no means accept the idea of
negative theology when speaking about the divine. As language emanates (rwan) from
the divine it enables also the mystic to refer to the divine in a positive way and go back
to its divine source.

251 Cf. E. R. Wolfson, Language, Eros, Being, p. 201.

100

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

366 = TQtt>n = mm aw) with the help of linguistic techniques. This power
seems to extend in two directions, below and above (Ginnat 'Egoz, p.
295):

(52) Know [my brother] that for this reason the city of the Amorites ['Emori, lit. those
who articulate] was called Heshbon (lit. calculation) as they were people of great might
{'Anshei Hayyil), heroes who equaled in their number ('Anashim Gibborim 'Olim baM-
ispar) [to the Great Name] [numerically Heshbon = Shem YHWH = 366]. As Scripture
says, "All the people that we saw in it are men of great stature" (Num. 13: 32) ('Anshei
Middot, lit. "men of (great) measurements [Middot]", i.e. men who possess righteous
attributes; Middot is used to describe the divine attributes). Therefore, you will find writ-
ten about them, "Yet we have cast them down utterly, Heshbon (lit. calculation) along
with Dibon" (Num. 21 : 30), because by the power of the Name YHWH (Shem YHWH =
366) we have defeated the people of Heshbon (= 366), who are the Amorites ('Emori).
Subsequently, it is written, "So Israel occupied the land of the Amorites ('Emori)" (Num.
21 : 31) for by the power of calculation they defeated the people of the city of Heshbon
which was the first city to be captured and settled by the Israelites ... and since Heshbon
was the first of the [Canaanite] cities to be captured and settled by Israel, know that the
city of Heshbon stood as an obstacle to the occupation of the land and could have pre-
vented the occupation of the entire country, since it possessed a supernal influx (Ham-
shakhah 'Elyonah). However, when the [secret] principle (Yesod) of Heshbon was ap-
plied with force upon the city it was immediately captured, for even though I say Hesh-
bon (= 366) I refer to its [secret] principle which is Shem YHWH (= 366). In any event,
the great Name reigns in Heshbon and therefore the city was captured by [applying] the
power of Shem YHWH (= 366) for this is the [secret] principle [underlying the name of
the city] Heshbon (=■ 366).

However, the divine name remains the highest instance of control for such
exegesis. The name itself becomes available for the mystic only with the
help of linguistic techniques, but the interdependence between the divine
name and its numerical values is not reversible and the hierarchy remains
stable. In the continuation of the passage mentioned above, Gikatilla dis-
cusses the relevance of the Tetragrammaton in the teaching of the Rabbis
and the fact that instruction in it was given only once in every seven years
(Hulin 91b), as it was the "center" and the main issue of the Shmlttah (like
the seventh day of the week, the Shabbat 258 ).

The basic concept of understanding the Torah by means of the names,
i.e. the transformation of the Torah into its true intellectual form, so that
the mystic becomes the prophet to enact signs and miracles, 259 is also ex-

258 Cf. Y. Liebes, Ars Poetica in Sefer Yetsirah, Tel Aviv 2000, pp. 199-200 (Hebrew).
See also M. Idel, "Shabbat: On Concepts of Time in Jewish Mysticism", in ed. Gerald J.
Blidstein, Sabbath. Idea, History, Reality, Be'er Sheva 2005, pp. 76-79; see also Ms
British Library 27173, fol. 123b.

259 Cf. to Abulafia's seventh method, Sheva' Netivot ha Torah, ed. A. Jellinek, Phi-
losophic und Kabbala. Erstes Heft, Leipzig 1854.

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

101

pressed by the equation of bx~iw = ^xn w (23 1 260 ). Abulafia, Gikatilla' s
teacher in the interpretation of the Guide of the Perplexed, expresses this
view of linguistic operations as the basic issue for prophecy in his Sefer
'Otzar 'Eden Ganuz (Ms Oxford 1580, 33a 261 ) as follows:

(53) Since our intention is not focused upon them [the letters], in order to illustrate to
you the clarity of speech, or how the grammarians spoke; rather our intention is to trans-
form everything that comes from Him in its conventional form (Muskam) and to purify
the language in the crucible of wisdom and the furnace of understanding, and by the pro-
bity of knowledge to have the languages revolve until they revert to their prime-material
state (Homer Rishon). Then it will be possible through their agency to produce wondrous
inventions. The combination of letters includes seventy languages. They are the 22 letters
whose secret is the wheat (Hitah = 22) full of goodness (Tovah = 22), 22 foundation let-
ters. They [the letters] are the foundation of the entire world and they constitute all per-
fections/completenesses and are set in the wheel, within the 231 gates, and they are the
secret of YSh R'L "there are 231" [the same Hebrew consonants as the word Israel] the
name of the Active Intellect which transforms nature ...

From the all-encompassing reality created by letter combination the Active
Intellect 262 arises, which transforms nature, not only the nature of the To-
rah, but also (and this is more important) the mystic himself and his reali-
ty. With the means available through Tzerufei 'Otiyyot the secrets of the
universe and the divine are revealed. As in the example above from To-
garmi, the mystic is absorbed into the world of the letters, which will final-
ly provide the remedy 263 for his soul, the prophetic experience. The He-
brew term n^llO has clearly magic implications; references are found in
medieval texts to a "magic recipe", as for instance in the magic texts of the
Cairo Geniza 2 4 and other Jewish texts on magic from an early period.

260 Cf. Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 356: n^nn "pyisn Vdw V'so w nom yiNi d 1 ^ onin bs-iu? 1 nvrf?
nm-ittn no nsoni D'o-nn i^xa piann p oni .~\mm no ^np 1 ? wimi an© ^tnt^ xipnb i"iK-r?
.n-pniNn niTH nnnra Mb D^ina an wo nsmnn noi ^in noi aonim anrpi Cf. also M. Idel,
Abraham Abulafia's Works and Doctrines, PhD Thesis Hebrew University Jerusalem
1976, p. 90 (Hebrew), on the transformative character of this Gematria in Abulafia's
writings.

261 Cf. the text in M. Idel, Language, Torah, and Hermeneutics in Abraham Abulafia,
Tel Aviv 1994, p. 108 (in the Hebrew and the English edition).

262 Cf. the passage in note 196.

263 On the translation of the term rftuo as "remedy" in a redemptive technique of in-
terpretation and the magic tradition in Shimmushei Torah and later Hasidic texts, esp. of
the Besht, see M. Idel, Hasidism. Between Ecstasy and Magic, Albany 1995, pp. 79-80.
It is interesting to see that also in the later text remedies are closely related to the divine
names as both are items for preparations of the advent of the Messiah, the final redemp-
tion.

Cf. P. Schafer and P. Shaked, Magische Texte aus der Kairoer Geniza, Bd. 1, Tu-
bingen 1994, pp. 5-9.

102

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Gikatilla describes this process in his Sefer haNiqqud, 39b:

(54) Behold, alf the forms of the heaven and the earth, which contain all the other forms,
are contained in the secret of 22 letters, which we have mentioned in the order of the
fundamental forms and the stars and the planets and in the forms of time according to
their species and in the forms of the human body and its laws. And if you reflect [con-
template] on the three kinds of forms and within the secret of the 22 letters you will find
the entire creation of the world, its structure and all of its species. All is dependent on the
letters, One who understands their hidden mysteries [as explained] in Sefer Yetzirah will
contemplate the depth of the letters, and no created being can contemplate their depth.
This is certainly so in view of the fact that the Torah is a fabric woven of letters. For
when you say the word Bereshit [in the beginning] whose six letters" are combined, the
prophets entered into and perceived the depths of the Torah through the act of combina-
tion of these letters and the depth of the implications of their revolutions and combina-
tions. And this is a thing whose aim cannot be grasped by the power of worldly creation,
but only by the Name blessed be He.

After this introduction of the topic on letter combination according to Sefer
Yetzirah, Gikatilla goes on to present the corresponding paradigm from the
field of medicine:

(55) And I will present a parable with regard to the weaving of the words out of letters,
which' is to be compared to a skilled physician who knows very well the nature of all
kinds of medication, as every one of them is different from the others and one has to
know their nature, potencies and remedies. And after you know every single medication
with respect to its difference [from others], you will know how to combine two of them
or three or four or even more, as many as you want to combine. Then you will unite the
nature of the separate medications and they will be mingled together and will mix with
each other. Then the physician will achieve the purpose of the perfect medication for the
disease. And if the physician does not know the nature of every single drug he will never
be able to make up a useful combination [of medication] according to the medication
needed [in this case]. The same is true of the secret of every letter of the Torah. The Holy
One, blessed be He, knows the quality of every letter and its forms and its characters and
its potencies and its activities, as He combines two or three or four or even more letters.
When they are combined into a word, you build and establish its higher wisdom in the
created worlds, and this is a very deep matter for the one who will find [know] it (Eccl.
7: 24) and there is no other concept for this and this cannot be comprehended except by
way of the kabbalah/tradition of Moses, our rabbi, may peace rest upon him, from Sinai
and from him to all the ones that come after him; and these are the secrets of the Torah
and its depth.

I can deal only briefly with this passage here. 267 It becomes clear that
Gikatilla associates the method of letter combination with the prophetic
experience, which finally reveals for the prophet mystic the secrets of the

5 Cf. I. Wandrey, "Das Buch des Gewandes" und "Das Buch der Aufrechten". Do-
kumente eines magischen spdtantiken Rituals, ediert, kommentiert und iibersetzt, Tubin-
gen 2004, p. 4.

266 Printed in 'Arzei Levanon, Venice 1601.

267 We will deal with this passage in detail in our chapter on "Status of the Text".

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

103

Torah. This intellectual process, however, has a more lofty aim, the "heal-
ing" of the soul, 268 as it is expressed in the parable. Knowing the atoms of
language (vowels) enables the mystic to recreate reality and win remedies
for his soul and for others (like a physician). Gikatilla stresses the two as-
pects of this process: the analytical and the synthetical - in a way similar
to Plato's use of two verbs for weaving in the Cratylos. After breaking up
the text into its smallest units and analyzing their distinctive nature with
regard to the other letters, the mystic becomes the true "physician" who
may find the appropriate remedy for every kind of malady. He activates the
magic power 26 inherent in the letters and operates with the dynamic ener-
gy thus activated by linguistic manipulation. 270 The different levels of this
re-organization are related to the different components (letters and names)
of the medicine (nxiErn do). I am inclined to see also in the reference to
"drugs" 271 (no) an allusion to the ecstatic character of such a linguistic-
holistic experience. This penetration into the inner structure of the Hebrew
language could also be called the topic for his critique of the Guide of the
Perplexed, where he tries to shed light on the inner structures of language
and to analyze the particular constituents of the word itself. 272 I think we
should compare this "inner structure", expressed in the Mashal as to yno
DO (nature of each drug), to the activity of the theurgist in Neoplatonism,
where in order to prescribe the appropriate ritual for his soul, the theurgist
needs to be able to "read" the nature of the energeia of a divine or demonic
soul. If he knows how to do this, the energeia reveals the mode of its de-
scent or its level within the cosmos to which it was attached, and the pur-
pose (telos) of its embodiment. 273 In the Neoplatonism of Iamblichus the
affinity of the theurgist with his offering and its connection with the god
allows him to enter the god's energeia when the sacrifice is properly per-

Cf. this passage to the interesting interpretation of Derrida on "Plato's Pharmacy"
and the persistence of the metaphor of writing in Plato, J. Derrida, Dissemination, trans.
B. Johnson, Chicago 1981, pp. 65-171.

269 Cf. on the power within words according to ancient classical, biblical, rabbinic and
kabbalistic sources, Y. Liebes, "The 'Power' of a Word as the Foundation for its Mean-
ing in Kabbalah", in eds. M. M. Bar-Asher et al., A Word fitly spoken: Studies in Medi-
aeval Exegesis of the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an. Presented to Haggai ben-Shammai,
Jerusalem 2007, pp. 163-177 (Hebrew).

270 Cf. also the figure of Bezalel in Berachot 55a, who also knows how to 'combine'
(li^ 1 ?) letters and these re-combinations develop their own inner dynamics and 'with the
help of them are created heaven and earth' (71x1 □ 1 Ott> pa ltnajtt?). See also L. Blau, Das
Altjudische Zauberwesen, Budapest 1898, p. 122,

271 Jacques Derrida has elaborated in detail on the double meaning of pharmakon in
the writings of Plato and its meaning for modern literary theory; cf. Dissemination, Chi-
cago 1981, pp. 61-171.

272 Cf. M. Idel, Language, Torah, and Hermeneutics, p. 151.

273 Cf. G. Shaw, Theurgy and the Soul, p. 146.

104

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

formed. Through sacrifice, the soul tapped the power of the ruling god
whether the offering was an animal, a plant, a song or a virtue, and these
sacrifices were the embodiment of the will of the gods and direct expres-
sions of their own activity. Therefore, theurgy was fundamentally dynam-
ic, for the philia that sustained both cosmos and sacrifice was considered,
ultimately, to be the eros of the One, proceeding from, and returning to,
itself. 274 In Gikatilla's description above, however, the linguistic activity of
Tzerufei 'Otiyyot takes over the role of the sacrifice and sets in motion the
flow of the dynamic divine power from above. The permutation of the let-
ters is the medium between the divine and the human energy as exercised
in Gikatilla's linguistic magic.

A very interesting Jewish parallel or even forerunner of Gikatilla's med-
ical parable is found in the book Seder R. Amram Gaon: 275

(56) And it occurred to the audience of YHWH and they were interpreting the com-
mandments, as it happened to a sick person with the expert physician (haRofe'
ha'Oman), the pharmacist. The expert physician knows the disease of the sick person and
that he cannot survive it as it is severe; but in any medicine which is put together of
many known drugs (Samim) and of which a certain amount should be taken at a certain
time, the sick person takes it and does not know and does not feel the mixture of the
drugs, but only the purpose of its application. And the medicine operates by the power of
the combined drugs and by it the sick person [recovers], although he does not feel or un-
derstand the benefit in this science.

According to R. Amram' s statement, the commandments are perceived as a
kind of medicine prepared by a pharmacist. This pharmacist is compared
thereafter to God Himself who is the only one who knows how to decode
the inner structure of the medical ingredients for the healing of the soul.
Gikatilla takes a huge step further by comparing the kabbalist to one who
knows the inner structure of the medication, the kabbalist being the one
who knows the inner structure of the letters. 7 The commandments have
been replaced by the correct linguistic technique, which brings about the
healing for the soul. Whereas in the continuation of R. Amram' s passage
the believer has to fulfill the commandments in order to obtain the medica-
tion, the "good" of the heavenly pharmacy, Gikatilla regards the right us-
age of the letter combination, the penetration into the "chemical formu-

1 Cf. ibid., pp. 153-154.

Ed. L. Fromkin, Jerusalem 1912, p. 79. See on this passage also M. Idel, "On the
Theologization of Kabbalah in Modern Scholarship", in eds. Y. Schwartz and V. Krech,
Religious Apologetics-Philosophical Argumentation, Tubingen 2004, pp. 129-131.

21(1 Cf. Ginnat 'Egoz, 3" 1 part; cf. the ideas on the inner structure of the letters of the
Shem haMeforash and the secret transmission of the chapter headings among the students
of kabbalah, R. Todros ben Joseph haLevi Abulafia, 'Otzar haKavod, Warsaw 1879, fol.
13d and 19d.

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

105

la", as being within the power of the mystic, who can bring about a cure
by himself.

In R. Yehuda Halevi's Kuzari we find a similar parable about an igno-
rant person dispensing medicine from a pharmacy. In this passage 278 (I: 79:
20-21) the Mitzwot are not beneficial in themselves as magic formula, but
because they are 'Awamir Allah, commanded by God. Diana Lobel 279 sug-
gests two possible interpretations for this passage: either God alone knows
the "correct" medicines and how they are to be administered, or that which
is commanded by God has something of Him in it and makes possible a
participation mystique in God's commands. I want to pay attention to the
prophetic connotation in this. In an additional passage (III: 53:133-134):
spiritualists think that they alone can imitate the true prophets by contriv-
ing formulas to unite with the divine. However, without knowing the "in-
ner essence" of the magic words, Jews who perform magic using the divine
names are no different from pagans using other magic formulas. 280 One is
reminded here of Gikatilla's warning against the "simple" use of magic as
described in the introduction of Sha'arei 'Orah.

Another important aspect of the rfmo (remedy) is stressed by R. Bahya ben
Asher in his Qad haKemah, where Segulah signifies the very thing within
which there is a hidden power:

281

(57) This is the great distinction {Ma 'alah Gedolah) of Israel, that they have this great
adherence {Devequt haGadol haZeh) to the Holy One, blessed be He. This is the reason
why it is written: "And you will be a special treasure {Segulah) unto me." (Ex. 19:5) The
word "special treasure" {Segulah) points to the very thing within which there is a hidden
power, as the "special treasure" is said of the power of the grasses and the pearls, within
which there is a hidden power. And out of the strength of adherence {Rov Devequt) [of
Israel] God unifies and praises them as one nation. This is the reason why it is written: 282
"What is hidden in the phylacteries of God?" "Who is like the people of Israel, a single
{'Ehad) nation on earth" (I Chron. 17: 21) just as they unify Him and praise Him saying:
"Hear, Israel: the Lord, our God, is one." (Dtn. 16: 4)

Cf. M. Idel, "Maimonides and Kabbalah", p. 45.

278 See for the text and its interpretation D. Lobel, Between Mysticism and Philoso-
phy: Sufi Language of Religious Experience in Juda Ha-Levi's Kuzari, Albany 2000, pp.
83-84.

219 Cf. ibid., pp. 86-87.

280 Cf. also Kuzari III: 5 3:135 "This will show you that one can only come near to
God by the commandments ['Awamir] of God, and there is no way to knowledge of the
commandments of God except by way of prophecy, not by speculation [Taqayyus] or
cleverness and there is no bond between us and those commandments except sound tradi-
tion", see D. Lobel, Between Mysticism and Philosophy, Albany 2000, p. 85.

281 Cf. Kitvei haRamban, ed. Ch. Chavel, Jerusalem 1970, p. 234. For the English
translation see note below.

282 bBer. 6a.

106

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Moshe Idel has suggested 2 that Segulah is not a term reserved for Israel
only, but also for the phylacteries, which seen from outside do not show
their hidden treasure. Their treasure can only be seen from within: 284 the
"chemical" formula of the divine unity. The affinity between the two types
of reminders, both enclosing the mystic on different levels, the human and
the divine, represents the union between God and Israel. Gikatilla seems to
transfer this uniting idea to the more personal level, the union between the
mystic and the deity based on the knowledge of the linguistic techniques.
However, both authors base their ideal of union on the correct fulfillment
of the commandments.

2.5.3 Discussions on Prophecy in Ginnat 'Egoz

In the last paragraph I described the conditions in linguistic kabbalah for a
mystical experience conceived as a state of prophecy and achieved by in-
tellectual acts.

In Ginnat 'Egoz Gikatilla does not have many references to prophecy. I
wish to mention here only those passages in which understanding of the
hierarchical structure of the universe is essential in preparation for the pro-
phetic' experience.

Gikatilla describes in the following passage the three highest elements:
fire, wind and water, around the divine throne, i.e. the three highest angels
as the "essence of intellect" C?owr] D^y) as the "light of garment" (tin
Win 1 ?), which is the object of prophetic vision in putting off the sensibilia,
in Ginnat 'Egoz, pp. 280-281:

(58) And these are the ones that appear to the prophets as if they were divesting them-
selves off the garment of the sensible; and the prophets became intelligible, disrobing
from the garment of matter, and their intellect is refined and expands and approaches to
be warmed by the fire of intellect and not the fire of matter.

And as it comes out of the intellectual fire, which belongs to the intellectual world, it
is said in prophecy: "[His word] was like a burning fire in my heart" (Jer. 20: 9). A fire is
rot burning, if it is not "like a burning fire". Indeed this is the purification of the intellect
and the adherence (Devequt) to the upper beings called holy intelligibles by reason of
their adherence to the form of the inner intellect. And this is the way of prophecy from
the foundation of the fire of intellect and their spirit is a spirit of intellect ... and they
appear to the prophets as if they were divesting themselves off the garment of matter, and
their intellect is purified and gets closer to becoming the spirit of intellect which hovers,
not a spirit of matter. Only if the spiritual form is subtle and intelligible does it initiate.
And when this spirit goes out, it is desd'bed in prophecy as: "The hand of YHWH came

Cf. M. Idel, "Memento Dei - Remarks on Remembering in Judaism", in It Senso
Delia Memoria. Roma, 23-25 ottobre 2002, Rome 2003, p. 172.

On the issue of "from within" in Moshe de Leon's Mishkan 'Edut, cf. E. R.
Wolfson, "Mirror of Nature Reflected in the Symbolism of Medieval Kabbalah", in ed.
H. Tirosh-Samuelson, Judaism and Ecology, Cambridge, Mass. 2002, pp. 308-309.

2.5 Point: Vocalization and Origin of the Universe

107

upon me. He took me out by the spirit of YHWH ..." (Ez. 37: L) ... This is the way of
prophecy from the spiritual foundation of intellect ... But those waters are all inner intel-
ligible, subtle, spiritual light and all this is the foundation of light. There is no other
foundation. And about these waters it is said: "Vast floods cannot quench love." (Song of
Songs 8: 7), as love is no corporeal thing which waters can drown, but the waters are in-
telligible waters and the love is intelligible love, as only [intellectual love] can initiate
the intellect to prophecy.

Prophetic experience consists in divesting the three elements: fire,
wind/spirit and water of their material garment and revealing their intellec-
tual essence. When the intellect of the prophets is united with the divine
intellectual forms, they lose their corporeal forms and become intellectual
beings. 285 In prophetic vision all three elements are transformed into a fine
inner, intellectual and spiritual light, the essence of light, fire, wind/spirit
and water. The inspiration of the prophet for such a transformation is
awakened through intellectual love. 286

Further on in Ginnat 'Egoz Gikatilla again refers to the transformation
of the prophet as "being overpowered by the garment of intellect", p. 444:

(59) And Moses, peace be upon him, was the master of all prophets. There was no one
before or after him who could divest himself more from his comprehension by way of
matter more than he [Moses], Since a man wears a material, garment, the garment of in-
tellect cannot be put on him, as the two are opposites and they are two forms. And you
will never be able to desire both of them, since if you desire one, you will reject the oth-
er. And it will always be like that, since the intellect cannot enter together with the sensi-
ble into one union [fence]. But when a person puts off the garment of the sensibilia, if he
puts it off slowly, so the garment of intellect will clothe him, until one enters and the
other leaves. Such is the way of the human understanding. If a person ever wishes to at-
tain the degree of understanding once, then he will have to pass by the one who purifies
(Metzareph). 2 "

Since it is impossible to compare the sensibilia and intellectual compre-
hension the prophet is forced to change his "form" absolutely, i.e. to enter
totally into the intellectual realm. Only when he is absorbed into the intel-
lectual universe is he able to reach true understanding of the forms, i.e.

285 See also Gikatilla's description of the true "hero" as prophet, the one who over-
comes his material being by the intellect, Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 315. On the transformation of
the kabbalist in mystical ecstasy, "intellectual prophecy", see M. Idel, The Mystical Ex-
perience in Abraham Abulafia, New York 1988, pp. 126-138, idem, Absorbing Perfec-
tions, pp. 328—331.

286 For different concepts of prophecy from Maimonides to Spinoza, esp. on the influ-
ence of Maimonides' conceptualization, see H. M. Ravven, "Some Thoughts on what
Spinoza Learned from Maimonides about the Prophetic Imagination. Part 1. Maimonides
on Prophecy and Imagination", Journal of the History of Philosophy 39 (2001), pp. 193-
214.

287 It might be possible to see in this expression an allusion to letter combination
(^Tis) stemming from the same root. Cf. Mai. 3: 2-3.

108

2 Tzerufei Otiyyot

prophecy. This process may also be called "ecstasy", as the prophet leaves
his bodily form behind and reaches comprehension beyond the grasp of his
material being.

It is important to note that each individual can reach a certain state of
intellection according to his intellectual abilities, comprehension, and ca-
pacity to unite with the power of intellect. 288 However, Moses' prophetic
comprehension transcends the ordinary limitations of the mind.

Prophecy is for Gikatilla an ascending process of intellection, orientated
and represented by the vocalization points. On the same page mentioned
above, he represents the prophetic hierarchy with Moses above, followed
by Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, by 70 from the Elders of Israel and finally by
the people, who comprehend according to their intellectual power "from
afar" (p"rna). Gikatilla changes the vowels of this expression into "from
Hiriq" (p"~inD, the lowest of the vocalization points). This lowest class is
accused of mixing the intellectual with the sensible realm and therefore it
is punished. They have assaulted the basic principle of prophecy: the sepa-
ration of the two realms and the total immersion in the intellectual universe
by means of language.

In Ginnat 'Egoz language is defined as the form of reality, 289 which does
not work on a cognitive level, but on the interplay between ifnia (sensibil-
ia) and ^icno (intelligibilia). Jewish faith depends on the power of the He-
brew language. The cosmic aspect of language, the Torah as the blueprint
of the universe and of reality, moves to the > center of kabbalistic specula-
tion based on the idea of language as the divine instrument for creating the
universe. In this interpretation of the biblical narrative, the operative com-
ponent of language is defined as Sod, i.e. practical knowledge, whereas the
magical use of language leads to redemption, Gan 'Eden {111 = nms?o vftw
- 1176 = 176 + 1 = 177 = avn nvn niTJ). 290 However, normative behavior
in ritual is considered as the basic reality for linguistic operations. Rituals
are regarded as an allegory for "work" with the divine names. Even eating
has an influence on the divine names, and leads to Gan 'Eden, the present
individual eschatology. In order to initiate this redemptive process Gema-
tria is used to initiate the mystic nTBX, "nil? 1 ? (to initiate). For Gikatilla the
actual pronunciation of the words is the entering into 'Eden. For both, To-

Cf. Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 454: 'dd vt»rr7 1"7 rrn inx Vdi ,hwm pin Drawn re fx ixwn "?d -o
inxi irm "?d ,to nmn bi nnvHP •?? »m ... amura "jsuti nm nmirtp rmn lunprr rroVi ... iro

It could be highly interesting to compare such an idea with the idea of the Golem
and its creation through language.

Cf. our former passage on that Gematria in this chapter.

2.6 Tzerufei ' Otiyyot/Shemot in Later Works

109

garmi and Gikatilla such an initiation is only possible in the Hebrew
tongue: now:i irmunn, nu^n r\w\i ^n.

Gikatilla and Togarmi considered themselves as writing down the code for
a different kind of kabbalah, a linguistically oriented one, which is ex-
pressed in the following Gematria: iltt^n nynwn (incantation of language) =
n 1 7 ,, 7i dbv (day and night) = ninaa mww (use of names) = nnDinn no (se-
cret of combination). 291 This statement is central for Gikatilla' s early peri-
od, where he was part of an innovative kabbalistic school, based solely on
oral tradition. If the mystic is able to change his reality, his ontological sta-
tus, by language, then he may enter a new world by way of linguistic tech-
niques, where the ritual is an intellectual expression of the divine names
mn }W^7 (the language of the religion).

A microscopic reading of Scripture in its names, letters and vowels in Gin-
nat 'Egoz makes possible a telescopic reading of and knowledge about the
universe, the correspondence between the intellectual spheres and the di-
vine realm. The exegesis of Scriptures and later the Hebrew language in
general as the divine language, which in the beginning chapters of Ginnat
'Egoz starts with names, proceeds to letters and culminates in punctuation
as the most esoteric level, which resembles divine minutiae and enables the
mystic to gain access to this realm. This realm is concentrated and repre-
sented in the Hebrew language and the only access to it is through intellec-
tual knowledge and linguistic techniques. In his later writings Gikatilla re-
turns to the path of the names (and not the vowels) as the preliminary state
of prophecy.

2.6 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot/Shemot in Later Works -
Transition to Sefirotic Kabbalah

In Gikatilla' s later works, especially in Sha'arei 'Orah, the technique of
letter combination seems to become marginal and other linguistic devices
move to the center. Under the increasing influence of Neoplatonic ideas,
esp. the hierarchical structure 292 of the human and the divine cosmos,
Gikatilla seems to leave behind many of his linguistic techniques from the
early period. However, a closer examination of the lexicographic struc-

291 Cf. this Sod to the gematrical method of "man Toam.

292 Cf. H. Tirosh-Samuelson, "Philosophy and Kabbalah: 1200-1600", in eds. D.H.
Frank and O. Leaman, The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Jewish. Philosophy, Cam-
bridge 2003, pp. 218-257, esp. 227-229; and in the same volume the excellent article by
S. Pessin, "Jewish Neoplatonism: Being above Being and Divine Emanation in Solomon
Ibn Gabirol and Isaac Israeli", pp. 91-110.

110

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

ture of Sha'arei 'Orah and the underlying idea of the text as a woven
structure rather suggests that the microscopic structure of letter combina-
tion has been transferred to the realm of text, esp. divine names. 294 A cru-
cial role within this process of transference is to be ascribed to sexual im-
agery, since it is with these images that the intense encounter of the mystic
with the biblical text is described. I assume therefore in later writings such
as Sha'arei 'Orah Gikatilla's instructions on kabbalistic interpretation in
another form, in which the techniques of letter combination are partly re-
placed by powerful erotic images, which illustrate the performative en-
counter of the reader with Scripture.

As I have tried to show above, the underlying Platonic notion of weaving
as both an analytic and a synthetic activity, gives Gikatilla the opportunity
to transfer such a model to the linguistic and ontological levels and their
mutual correspondence. Sha'arei 'Orah I: 48:

(60) Know that all His holy Names that are mentionedun the Torah are all dependent on
the four-letter Name, which is YHWH. And if you ask: Is not the Name 'EHYH the es-
sence and the origin? Then know that the four-letter Name is like the body of a tree and
the Najne EHYH is the essence of this tree and out of it all the roots are having their
roots and the branches spread out of it on every side and all the other holy Names are like
the branches and the twigs that stretch out from the body of the tree. And every single
branch produces its own fruit. And beside those holy Names that are known and which
may not be deleted, there are several other cognomina which are derived from [depend
on] every Name. For example you name the cognomina of YHWH, which are awesome
(Nora'), forgiving iniquity, remitting transgression {Noseh 'Awwon, 'Over 'at Pesha').
The cognomina of 'EL are great (Cadol), merciful (Rahum), and compassionate (Hanun).
The cognomina of 'Elohim are mighty {'Adir), judge (Shofet), judge [under Jewish law]
(Dayyan). And every one of these cognomina possesses other cognomina which depend
on them and they are the rest of all the biblical words. Until you find the entire Torah
woven from/upon the cognomina, and the cognomina from/upon the Names and ail the
holy Names depend on the Name YHWH and all are united within it. The entire Torah is
woven from/upon the Name YHWH and therefore the Torah of YHWH is called perfect
(Ps. 19: 8).

Gikatilla explains here his linguistic triangle, where all ten divine names
depend on the Tetragrammaton and point to the ten sefirot, described as
the sefirotic tree. On each divine name numerous cognomina depend,

Cf. A. Kilcher, "Lexikographisch? Konstruktion der Kabbala. Die Loci Communes
cabbalistici der Kabbala Denudata", Morgen-Glantz 7 (1997), pp. 67-125.

See our paragraph on weaving in the chapter "Status of the Text".

Scholem was of the opinion that the description of the sefirotic system as a tree
had its roots in Gnostic ideas, which were judaized in the Sefer haBahir, see G. Scholem,
Origins of the Kabbalah, Princeton 1990, pp. 71-73, 79-80, 277-279, 345. Simo Parpola
has demonstrated, however, that such a symbol was popular already in early Assyrian
cultures, see S. Parpola, "The Assyrian Tree of Life: Tracing the Origins of Jewish Mon-

2.6 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot/Shemot in Later Works

111

which organize other linguistic elements and refer to angelic powers. 296
This triadic structure assumes a certain transformation of the fewer higher
elements into the lower ones. The descending linguistic processio, the
lower as the garment of the higher in the materialization of divine lan-
guage in the lower realms can be reversed by discovering the web of lin-
guistic relations reflecting the ontological one. The kabbalistic reading of
the biblical text in its application of the sefirotic structure as an underlying
structure leads the reversio of the mystic to the esoteric knowledge of how
the four letters of the Tetragrammaton inform the ten divine names and
how the names are woven within the Tetragrammaton. In contrast to his
position in Ginnat 'Egoz where the reversio works on a microscopic level,
the vocalization point, Gikatilla refers here to a telescopic level. The cor-
rect reading of the biblical names represents the ontological order and the
mystic may influence this structure by language. In the chain of traditions
on Sefer Yetzirah 2: 5 Gikatilla adds here the notion of return, a mystical
ascent on the ground of linguistic activity and ontic transformation. This
re-weaving of the biblical text in the mystic's mind can be interpreted as a
kind of Tzerufei Shemot. Gikatilla does not refer here to the single letters
of the words, but it may well be that he is aware of the impossibility of
such a re-construction. Although the mystic does not penetrate into the
chemical formula of the word as in Sefer haNiqqud in order to obtain the
right remedy, the effect of the semantic combination is similar: cleaving to
the highest divine name.

In another passage, Gikatilla combines the technique of Tzeruf and Ge-
matria (TQwn) in his interpretation of Ex. 14: 19-21 297 in the first gate in
Sha'arei 'Orah. The 216 letters in this passage are four times the 54 names
of YHWH, see Sha 'arei 'Orah I: 57:

(61) For that reason YHWH is always pronounced as Adonay (= 54) in the Torah. This
means that anyone who seeks YHWH will find Him in the Name Adonay. Since this is
so, you should know that YHWH, blessed be He, has 54 quadriliteral Names in the com-
bination (beTzeruf) of YHWH, blessed be He, and they add up to 216 letters. And these
54 Names are the secret for drawing power on to all that exists in the world, on to all ex-
istence. And they are like (beDimyyon) the soul of the 216 letters of the verses (Ex. 14:
19-21) "And he moved ... and he came ... and he held out ...". And within those 54

otheism and Greek Philosophy", Journal of Near Eastern Studies 52 (1993), pp. 161-
208. See also the important article of Wolfson on this topic, E. R. Wolfson, "The Tree
That is All: Jewish-Christian Roots of a Kabbalistic Symbol in Sefer Ha-Bahir", in idem,
Along the Path. Studies in Kabbalistic Myth, Symbolism, and Hermeneulics, Albany
1995, pp. 63-88, who elaborated on the Jewish - Christian roots of this term and its phal-
lic connotations in reference to its demiurgic powers.

296 Cf. Idel, Absorbing Perfections, pp. 361-362.

297 Usually this passage is interpreted as the 72 letter name in kabbalistic exegesis.
Gikatilla, however, refers it to 54 names.

112

2 Tzerufei 'O&yyot

Names are included al! things in the world and they fulfill the needs of all creation by
means of Adonay.

Gikatilla refers to these verses as containing 54 names, 298 according to his
system of divine names. These 54 letters of each name (each verse is con-
sidered as a name) are permutations of the divine name YHWH, within the
216 letters of the three verses. These 54 letters of each name are the secret
of the emanation of power from above to all being here below. We should
note that in contrast to his interpretation in Ginnat 'Egoz, the names, not
the vocalization points, are the souls of the letters here. We might infer
from this combination of Gematria and permutation at the level of the
names and not of the Niqqud, that Gikatilla remains faithful to his path of
the names even in his later period. However, he transfers the emphasis to
the levels of the names and does not assign it to the linguistic atoms of vo-
calization.

In Sha'arei 'Orah Gikatilla is rather interested in the combination be-
tween the divine name and its proper vocalization. In the following pas-
sage, the Tzerufis, performed between the consonants of the divine names,
esp. the Tetragrammaton and the possible combinations with different
vowels or other divine names. The knowledge and the pronunciation 299 of
the correct linguistic combinations might lead the mystic to unite with the
place of the upper light, as expressed in the fifth gate, Sha'arei 'Orah I:
182:

(62) Know and understand that it is the secret of ascension from below to above. As the
Name is mentioned in the order Adonay YHWH, it is the secret of the ascension and uni-
fication of the sefirot with each other until they reach the intended place of desire
(hahefelz). Just as the one who wishes to unite with and cleave to the place of the highest
light, such is the aspiration {Teshuqah) of the Name Adonay to ascend and unite with the
sefira Binah called YHWH, vocalized as 'Elohim.

With the help of the correct combination of the divine names and their
proper vocalization the mystic activates their inner sefirotic attraction
(npiwn) and causes the sefira to ascend to its destined place within the sys-
tem. By means of this ascending sefira the kabbalist himself is able to as-
cend and cling to the place of light and unite with it. 300

The three verses contain 56 words, including once the Tetragrammaton, which he
might subtract from the sum. So he gains 55, which might also be considered as 54 ac-
cording to the rules of Gematria.

299 As expressed later in the fifth gate on pp. 194-195.

300 We should compare this also with the passage from Sha'ar haNiqqud and the
knowledge of the linguistic remedy. In Sha'arei 'Orah Gikatilla is not so much interested
in the "chemical formula" but rather in the inner-sefirotic laws of attraction.

2.6 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot/Shemot in Later Works

113

Another way to describe this process of ascent and revelation is found in
the following passage from the fifth gate, where the king (the Tetragram-
maton itself) reveals himself to different social groups by putting on dif-
ferent garments. Only in the last stage, when he is alone with the queen, he
removes the last garment. Gikatilla describes here the secret of the gar-
ments 301 of the Torah and its disclosure. In Sha'arei 'Orah I: 195-196 we
read:

(63) After we have explained these concepts, we must return and let you know how the
great and holy Name YHWH rules the entire world with His great power, and how the
other Names hold fast to Him and how the other cognomina in the Torah like merciful
{Rahum), pardoning (Hanun) and the like are similar (keDimmyyori) to the royal garments
a king wears. These garments are not part of the essence of the king himself, but they are
like instruments and the garments a king wears to arm himself. At times he wears gar-
ments of glory and kingship, when the king feels secure, tranquil and safe and all the
countries of his kingdom live in peace, for there are no demons and no evil entity. Then
the king is happy with his servants/subjects and wears pleasant clothes, adorning himself
with jewels and ornamented garments. At times, however, the king suffers from the bat-
tles with the enemies, robbers and looters who came to destroy his kingdom. Then the
king wears other garments - armor, helmets, swords and crossbows. And all his serv-
ants/subjects are in a state of tension until the danger has passed or until the king has
taken revenge on his enemies and tormentors and has done with them as he wishes. And
sometimes the king sits at home, without his legions or horsemen, with only the people of
his household, his brothers and his sons and his wife and his other relatives. Then the
king takes off some of the garments he was wearing with his ministers and servants pre-
sent. When the king remains with the members of his household, they can all see him and
his form more revealed than he was in his full dress. When he is with them, he does not
conceal himself in front of them as much as when he is covered (Mitkasseh) by his
clothes when he is with the public, because the members of his household are considered
as one of his limbs and so he does not hesitate to remove some of his clothes in front of
them. And sometimes the king isolates himself from his household and he stays with the
queen alone. Then the king is not ashamed to remove his clothes in front of the queen as
he would be in front of the rest of the household.

As the main topic of the sixth sefira is unification, 302 in the sense that the
Tetragrammaton wears 303 two different vocalizations (as Adonai or as Elo-
him) and unites itself with the other name, 304 it is almost self-evident that

See also our paragraph in "Status of the Text".

302 As we observe in Sha'arei 'Orah I: 273 the unification of Malkhut, Tif'eret and
Keter as the enthronement ceremony within the sixth sphere.

303 Cf. also Sha'arei 'Orah I: 177 and I: 206 where Gikatilla speaks about the cover-
ing and divestiture of the divine name as the origin of emanation and the return to it with-
in the mystical union.

304 Cf. Sha'arei 'Orah I: 178, cf. also p. 181, where Gikatilla writes: >D nyV? T? wi
2ino Ninw ->s Vi? ini .D'n^K tip'ja Nip:i nip''] nsnpa rVin 1 raw: ,inio iV?n maw w totbbo
■"t "jsi ^"riN mnpin rmbn nva av mrmno n\to n"r3 rrvnb rm inn ,a->nbn 7ipm Nip: n"w
.lion 1 n"irr 'V "?B ?mnNnn i n (You also must know that when these two Names are joined

1J4

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

erotic descriptions appear in this sphere. The more the king gains privacy,
the more he is ready to remove further of his garments. Not only does he
adjust his garments to his royal activities, but also to his private ones. It is
important to see that later on in this sphere 305 the erotic move is initiated
by the mystic and the Torah towards the Knesset Israel and God within the
context of the covenant and its concept of unification. We observe here a
significant shift away from Abulafia's ideas on the "pleasure of the bride-
groom and the bride", an expression occurring several times in his writ-
ings. 306 Whereas the union of the human and the divine represents in Abu-
lafia a clear shift not only from the mythical to the mystical, from the tra-
ditional terminology to the philosophical one, 307 but also from national to
individual, Gikatilla reverses that movement and turns back to the issue of
the community, the Knesset Israel™

together as one, YHWH is altered in the way it is vocalized and it is pronounced Elohim,
which alludes to the attribute of Binah and that unites with the attribute Malkhut, which
is called Adonay. And through what does this occur? Through YHWH, may He be
blessed.) The pronunciation of the name by the mystic unties the name with its vocaliza-
tion and affects the divine influx from above. We could call this also Zerufha'Ot weha-
Niqqud via the kabbalist.

303 Cf. Sha'arei 'Orah I: 206 and 214.

306 Cf. 'Or haSekhel, Ms Vatican 233, fol. 115.

307 Cf. M. Idel, "Sexual Metaphors and Praxis in the Kabbalah", in ed. D. Kraemer,
The Jewish Family: Metaphor and Memory, New York/Oxford 1989, p. 200.

It would be very interesting to compare the sociological implications regarding the
mystical union or the study of Torah in the different works of Abulafia, Gikatilla and the
Zohar, as in the Zohar the study of the Torah and the resulting mystical experience are
connected to a collective study; see e.g. in Zohar 1 : 8a where one of the more poignant
accounts of the collective state of ecstatic union with the Shekhina occurs. Describing the
ritual of studying on the night of Pentecost it says: "R. Simeon was sitting and studying
the Torah the night (of the day) that the bride (the Shekhina) unites with her husband (the
Holy One). It has been taught: all the comrades who belong to the palace of the bride, on
the night the bride is prepared to enter the next day into the nuptial chamber with her
husband must be with her the whole night. They must rejoice with her in her adornments
with which she is adorned, to study Torah, from the Pentateuch to the Prophets, from the
Prophets to the Writings, the collection of Midrash of scriptural verses, and the secrets of
Wisdom, for these are her adornments and ornamentation. She and her maidens enter and
stand upon their heads and she is adorned through them and is gladdened by them all
night. On the next day she does not enter the nuptial chamber except with them, and they
are called sons of the nuptial chamber. When they enter the nuptial chamber the Holy
One, blessed be He, inquires concerning them, blesses them and crowns them in the
crown of the bride; praiseworthy is their lot". The mystical fellows adorn the Shekhina
by means of their novel interpretations of Torah, esp. pertaining to esoteric matters. Be-
ware also the connection of bride/ 'Shekhina and coronation as we find it later in Gikatil-
la's work. Cf. also Y. Liebes, "The Messiah of the Zohar", pp. 187-188, 208-209. An-
other reference to the group of kabbalists studying the two nights before Pentecost, see

2.6 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot/Shemot in Later Works

115

Gikatilla goes on to transfer the parable of the king and the queen to the
sefirotic realm, Sha'arei 'Orah I: 196-197:

(64) And after this introduction, let me explain (Meva'er): 309 Know that the Name
YHWH is dressed and adorned with the holy Names, and all the Names hold fast to the
truth of the Name. For each of them teaches some special nuance of itself. How? When
the Name, blessed be He, wants to have mercy on His world and to have pity on them, He
wears the garment of mercy (Hesed) and compassion; then the great Name, which is
YHWH, reveals the banner of mercy (Hesed) and loving-kindness (Rahamim). On that
banner is inscribed the Name 'El, and this is its sign (Simon)? 10 "Each man under his
banner with signs ('Otot)" (Num. 2: 2). When the Name, blessed be He, brings out that
banner, He is merciful and compassionate and beneficent with His creatures and is happy
with them. This is the secret of "May the glory of YHWH endure forever; may YHWH
rejoice in His works" (Ps. 104: 31). And the secret is also found in "And he [Abraham]
invoked there the Name in the Name (Shem baShem) 3u YHWH, God ('El) of the world"
(Gen. 21: 33). At this time, He is dressed and glorified in the garments on which the at-
tribute 'El is inscribed, and the secret is "'El, king, sits on the throne of mercy" and its
secret is "YHWH, YHWH, compassionate 'El and gracious" (Ex. 34: 6). And this is the
secret: "For YHWH, your God, is a compassionate God ('El)" (Dtn. 4: 31). And this is
the sign (Siman): "For YHWH, your God, is a great God ('El), the great king over all
divine beings ('Elohim)" (Ps. 95: 3). 'Elohim is the attribute of judgment and this verse
shows that the attribute of mercy is greater than the attribute of judgment. And from that
you will understand the secret of the verse "God ('Elohim) put Abraham to test (Nissah)"
(Gen. 22: 1). For 'Elohim, the attribute of judgment, gave the flag (haNes) and the banner
into the hand of Abraham; this is the secret of the attribute of 'El, which in turn is the
secret of the attribute of mercy. And this is the meaning of the word "and He put Abra-
ham to test (Nissah 'et Avraham)", which is derived from the word "Lift up your flag
(haNes) upon all the nations".

And this is the secret of "'Elohei Avraham 'Elohei Yitzhaq" and we do not say 'Elohei
Yitzhaq [first], as the attribute of judgment is subordinate to the attribute of mercy, as the
banner of Isaac is the attribute of 'Elohim, which is handed over to Abraham, who is the
secret of the attribute 'El.

Here Gikatilla is replacing the biblical narrative with his own account of
the divine names and the correspondence within the sefirotic world. The
mystic is able to discover the inner divine processes by stripping the bibli-
cal narrative off its semantic level, in order to reach a higher semantics
based in this case on the Temurah of HOJ and dun.

The divine name of 'El (Abraham's God), which represents the sefira of
Hesed, conquers the divine name 'Elohim (Isaac's God). Gikatilla reveals

the testimony of Moshe de Leon in his kabbalistic explanation on Pentecost in Ms Vati-
can 428, fol, 37b.

309 Note the use of niK'3 for the Nimshal.

310 I will elaborate on the different usage of this word in Gikatilla's writings in the
chapter about the "Status of the Text".

311 Gikatilla's understanding of this expression is further elaborated on in his meta-
phor of the encapsulated rooms at the end of Sha 'arei 'Orah II: 130.

116

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

here three semantic levels: the historical one as represented by the forefa-
thers, the divine names and the sefirot. All three levels are interconnected,
and by penetrating into the deeper level of the first semantic layer, and the
second one, the kabbalist can finally reach an understanding of the inner
divine process described in the biblical passage. One might even see in the
transformation described here as happening to Abraham a paradigm for the
transformation of the reader penetrating into the deeper layers of the bibli-
cal text. Divine mercy overcomes him, he is able to understand and finally
influence the upper world with the help of D3n. It is highly interesting that
Gikatilla refers to a linguistic device like Temurah in order to initiate this
process. As mentioned before, the linguistic techniques are considered as
the initial step for the mystical encounter without which the transformative
reading cannot take place.

Basic for the understanding of the king-queen parable is the concept of the
garments of the Torah. 3 ' 2 As we have seen in the introduction to Sha'arei
'Orah, the idea of the garment, the lower as the garment of the higher, is
crucial for the whole construct of the book. Isaac of Acre expresses this in

313

his Sefer Me' 'irat 'Einayyim:

(65) And you have to know that the verses, i.e. the words and the letters that a person
sees with his eyes, are like the garment of a person who covers his body. And the simple
sentences and the interpretations are the body and the true kabbalah and the powers and
the great wondrous secrets, which come out of the Torah, are the soul. And this is written
in "And from my flesh I will behold God" (Job 19: 26).

In Sha'arei 'Orah I: 195-197 we are faced with a very anthropomorphic
picture, which portrays God as a king having a wife, and the scene de-
scribed seems to be dominated by the erotic tension between them. The
more they are in private, the more the king uncovers himself and puts off
his garment. Unlike in the Zohar, the kabbalist is symbolized here as the
feminine part of the encounter between the upper and the lower realm.
The mystic, and - as we shall also see later - the Knesset Israel, knows the
technique for coming closer to the undressed, essential meaning, the deep

312 Cf. the diverging position of Nahmanides to this idea in E. R. Wolfson, "The Se-
cret of the Garment in Nahmanides", in Da' at 24 (1990), pp. XXV-XLIX. Wolfson
shows here, that Nahmanides' doctrne of the Maibush represents another tradition,
which has been combined or even confused, both in Nahmanides' and in our time, with
the idea of an angelic garment, which was popularized by the circle of the Zohar. See
also D. Cohen-Alloro, The Secret of the Garment in the Zohar, Jerusalem 1987 (Hebrew).

313 Cf. p. 110.

3l4 On the gender of the mystic in the different branches of kabbalah see M. Idel, Mys-
tical Experience, 1988, pp. 179-227; also E. R. Wolfson, Circle in the Square: Studies in
the Use of Gender in Kabbalistic Symbolism, Albany 1995.

2. 6 Tzerufei ' Otiyyot/Shemot in Later Works

117

sense of the Torah, and knows also how to establish a direct connection
with it that transcends the literal meaning of the words.

It is interesting to see that the whole interest is on the names them-
selves, the basic woven pattern of both the linguistic and the ontological
realm. We could even speak of a reduction of knowledge (about the Torah)
of the names since the king represents the Tetragrammaton in this passage,
and the Tetragrammaton stands symbolically for the sixth emanation which
itself discards all the other names and appellations. The names are both a
graphic picture and the symbol of the sefira within the human being. But
the mystic cannot attain this status via cognitive, but only via experiential
reading. In his later writings, Gikatilla stresses the experimental activity of
the reader. Both in Ginnat 'Egoz and in Sha 'arei 'Orah the success of the
mystical encounter depends on the kabbalist, either by the employment of
linguistic techniques as Tzerufei 'Otiyyot and/or by the correct combina-
tion of the divine names according to the sefirotic system. As seen in the
passage mentioned above, Gikatilla combines in Sha'arei 'Orah both lev-
els of exegetical activity in order to penetrate into the deepest layers of the
text. The experimenting reader has to cross the frontier of the plain mean-
ing with the help of linguistic techniques and reach the hidden one by
means of the mystical ascent into the sefirotic realm. Here, in Sha'arei
'Orah I: 195-196 we face the entrance gate of the mystical union, since the
king and the queen remain separated and no further development is de-
scribed. Gikatilla keeps this highest knowledge secret, as it is essentially
experimental and not semantic. As soon as the student, the pneumatic
reader, is contextually located within the community of Israel, having
reached the highest hierarchical level, become the Tzaddiq, and having
penetrated the sefirotic structure, 315 he has the opportunity for unification.

In Sha'arei 'Orah I: 206 we read:

(66) ... even though when the Name, blessed be He, unites with Israel in the sanctuary,
He removes some of His cognomina, which are garments, as they say with regard to the
ineffable Name "In the sanctuary, as it is written, in the land, as in the cognomina". So
Israel sees the true essence of YHWH, blessed be He, more than other nations because he
wears only some of His garments and the cognomina. And this is the reason why not all
the masses are destined to grasp the true essence of this Name YHWH and they cannot
know the substance of His might. But when the Name, blessed be He, unites with the
righteous and the pious, the fathers of the world and the mighty ones, 316 then He removes

Cf. this idea to the passage at the end of Sefer haNiqqud, which has also a "social"
aspect of transferring the knowledge to others.

316 Cf. the end of Sabba de Mishpatim-passage, where the author(s) play with the
Temurah of D'lrTN in an eschatological context, the Tanna being part of the divine geog-
raphy, similar to our transformative aspect (Zohar 2:1 10b); cf. P. Giller, Reading the Zo-
har. The Sacred Text of the Kabbalah, Oxford/New York 2001, p. 54; and more recently

118

2 Tzerufei 'Otlyyot

all the cognomina, and YHWH is exalted alone, and the Name YHWH stands with Israel
like a king who has removed all his garments and unites (Mityyahed) with his wife. And
this is the secret: "Turn back, o rebellious children, says YHWH, for I will heal your af-
flictions!" (Jer. 3: 22), and it is said: "And I will espouse you forever" (Hos. 3: 21). "And
I will espouse you", like a king who removes his garments and unites with his wife.

We have in this passage a picture of the temple and its cult described in
erotic terms. The Knesset Israel is the queen within a further erotization of
the Torah and the temple service. Gikatilla makes use of the double mean-
ing of the word Hekhal (Sha'arei 'Orah I: 195-196) as it refers to both the
temple and the palace of a king. Therefore, the queen may also represent
the High Priest, the Cohen in his service at the Holy of Holies. The erotic
picturing of the king and his queen is transferred to the relationship be-
tween the people and God, the Tzaddiq and God, the priest and God. We
could also describe this further erotization of the technique of ascent as an
intensivation of the map for the mystical approach.

A very similar passage appears in the writings of R. Isaac Ibn Latif, who
enumerates three different stages of contemplation on the letters of the di-
vine name. In his treatise Tzurat ha'Olam, composed towards the end of
the 60s of the 13 th century, he writes: 317

(67) [The desired aim is] to strip the Name off [its] matter and to imagine it in the mind,
although it is impossible for the imagination to depict it without any physical image, be-
cause the imagination is not separate from the sensibilia, and most of what is attained by
the activity of the imagination is performed through the contemplation of the shape of the
letters and their forms and number. And it must also be understood that its letters [of the
divine Name] are that which make it move and speak, and that the other letters move
about, 318 but one cannot imagine them in speech except for the letters of the Name, even
though they do not become mingled and do not change their places in the squaring of the
numbers. ... And it is known to anyone who is wise of heart that when the imagination
goes away, the letters do the same. Therefore, the straightforward intellect must strip this
Name off simple matter, and imagine it in the form of pure mind.

It has been shown that Ibn Latif is explaining here three levels of con-
templation on the letters of the divine name: material, imaginative and in-
tellectual. The second stage should be understood as depicting the letters in
their physical presence. The imagined letters are transformed into an object
of contemplation in accordance with Aristotle's theory of knowledge, with
the imaginary form being the material one for intellectual activity. Gikatil-
la often uses this idea in Sha'arei 'Orah. The expression Train (in imagi-

O. Israel, The Interpretation of Secrets and the Secret of Interpretation. Midrashic and
Hermeneutic Strategies in Sabba deMishpatim of the Zohar, Los Angeles 2005 (Hebrew).

317 Cf. A. Jellinek, oViyn mix n^np witd TuV p« j?mr "\ ^m, Wien 1860, p. 32.

318 Note the correction adduced by M. Idel, The Mystical Experience, pp. 30-31 and
n. 81.

319 Cf. M. Idel, The Mystical Experience, p. 31.

2.6 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot/Shemot in Later Works

119

nation) is one of the key concepts in the passage mentioned above. 320
However, Gikatilla is introducing this idea of the mystical ascent as put-
ting off the "garment of the Tetragrammaton". I am inclined to see a causal
connection between these two components: the revelation of the Name, the
stripping off the form in imagination, and the mystic's ascent to the pure
form of the king, the letters of the Tetragrammaton. This path could also
be entitled "the way to a personal God", as the deity is portrayed in an an-
thropomorphic manner. The climax of this narrative will be found further
on in this gate when the Merkavah and its surrounding ministers are de-
scribed in the form of man {Sha'arei 'Orah I: 208). With reference to other
texts dealing with the Merkavah tradition and the weaving of the divine
throne with the help of Gematria and its culmination in the mystic's trans-
formation into the 'Atarah (diadem) of the Shekhina, i.e. God Himself, we
observe the establishment of a certain school in the kabbalistic traditions
derived from Ashkenaz, not however from the Kalonymid school of
Worms. This stream of mystical thought establishes an alternative struc-
ture of theurgy with no magical intentions, based on the ontological identi-
fication of the divine with the Shekhina as resembled in the 'Atarah and
the mystic's apotheosis into that diadem initiated with the help of linguis-
tic techniques like Gematriot and Tzerufei 'Otiyyot.

As in the Introduction, Gikatilla mentions in Sha'arei 'Orah I: 206 the
danger of this mystical journey. The stripping off the king, the disclosure
of the deeper sense, may also bring forth demonic forces, which are un-
covered in the spiritual, intensive reading. The change in the gender of the
mystic - in the Zohar, the mystic is the male and the Torah is the female -
might correspond to the active role he plays in initiating the unification by
means of prayer or fulfillment of the commandments. The human part in
the sefirotic unification is highly active in initiating the mystic's own cor-
onation, in his becoming the 'Atarah of the highest sefira through his mys-
tical exegesis.

Whereas in the writings of Alfarabi, the mystic is the receiving, female
part (in a process that works automatically as soon as it is initiated by the
mystic), in Gikatilla' s writings we observe a shift towards a kind of kabba-
listic exotericism: the inner secrets, normally described in erotic terms, are

We will come back to the function of imagination in the mnemonic process in
"Status of the Text".

321 Cf. M. Idel, "The Commentaries of R. Nehemiah ben Shlomo to the Forty-Two
Letter Divine Name", Kabbalah. Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 14
(2006), pp. 157-261 (Hebrew), esp. pp. 184-185, 188-189; and more recently idem, "In-
cantations, Lists and 'Gates of Sermons' in the Circle of Rabbi Nehemiah ben Shlomo
the Prophet, and their Influences", Tarbiz 77 (2009), pp. 475-554 (Hebrew). Cf. our re-
marks in "Status of the Text".

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2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

revealed to the reader, who does not simply observe them from outside, but
becomes part of them himself and may have influence on both realms, the
sefirotic one as presented in the Torah and the human one as presented in
the cult, the ritual. In his subsequent comments on the sixth sefira Gikatilla
moves from the priestly area, the temple cult, to the community, the Knes-
set Israel.

In contrast to Sha'arei 'Orah I: 196 we do face in this passage the actu-
al uniting of the king and the queen. The image of the king who removes
his garments and unites with his wife is developed into the final union be-
tween king and queen, husband and wife, the Tetragrammaton and Knesset
Israel. This description illustrates the process by which the Tetragramma-
ton removes his appellations and garments and unites with the spiritual
elite of Israel. 323 An interesting detail appears, if we consider the fact that
in other passages Gikatilla identifies the Tetragrammaton with the To-
rah. It is therefore plausible to suggest that the underlying conception of
this metaphor is similar to that of the Zohar, with the important difference
that in the case of Gikatilla the Torah is portrayed as a masculine figure 325
and in the Zohar it is feminine. 326 Gikatilla identifies Knesset Israel with
the tenth sphere, which unites with YHWH, the cognomen presented in the
sixth sefira. During the union God removes all garments and they become
one, but He is adorned again with His names and attributes. However, dur-
ing union both partners are enveloped, as also Israel is hidden by that time.
In Platonic terms we could describe this by the image of the textual himat-
ion (cloak), which covers the lover and the beloved, the author and the
^reader via the texture of the textual web (and the tallit in prayer). They are

322 Cf. Sha 'arei 'Orah I: 214-216.

323 Cf. the discussion of Gikatilla's imagery in Ch. Mopsik, Lettre sur la saintete: le
secret de la relation entre L'homme et lafemme dans la cabale, Paris 1986, pp. 98-99.

324 Cf. Sha 'arei 'Orah I: 48; I: 248.

" ' There might be a connection between the masculine imagination of crown of the
Torah as the corona of the inembrum virile disclosed as part of the circumcision ritual in
Tiqqunei Zohar 30, 73a; 36, 78a, whereas the feminine potency might be regarded as on-
tically part of the male and Gikatilla's masculine description of the Torah.

326 Cf. Zohar f : 21b; 236b; 239a. The mystic unites in these passages with the Torah
or Shekhina in a sexual embrace, based on a sexual connotation of reading. What is cru-
cial for the analysis is the obvious characterization of the Torah as a feminine persona.
Kabbalistic exegesis is a process of denuding the Torah akin to the disrobing of the prin-
cess by her lover. Cf. also Moseh de Leon in Mishkan ha'Edut, Ms Berlin, Staatsbiblio-
thck Or. Qtiat. 833, fol.lb. For a detailed discussion see E. R. Wolfson, "Female Imaging
of Torah: From Literary Metaphor to Religious Symbol", in Circle in the Square: Studies
in the Use of Gender in Kabbalistic Symbolism, Albany 1995, p. 17 and pp. 136-137, n.
102; and D. Cohen-Alloro, The Secret of the Garment in the Zohar, Jerusalem 1987, p.
43 (Hebrew).

2.6 Tzerufei 'Odyyot/Shemot in Later Works

121

unseparated lovers like the two cherubs {Sha'arei 'Orah I: 238) in the
temple embracing each other. The receiving and the discharging entity are
one, which is the inner secret of the Merkavah in the Solomonian Temple.
I might suggest that we state here within Tif'eret a move from heteroeroti-
cism to homoeroticism. 328 The high point of this move will be reached in
the autoeroticism of the enthronement as described in Sha'arei 'Orah I;
273. This act might be interpreted as the reintegration of the female within
the divine male androgyne, according to Elliot Wolfson. 329 However, I as-
sume that we might also maintain the gender difference as an integral part
of the divine itself, as has been suggested by Charles Mopsik, who stresses
the bi-polar union of female and male and underscores the liberal model as
found in the writings of Joseph of Hamadan. 330 It has also been claimed
that certain kabbalistic traditions strive to preserve the polarity of male and
female, without any attempt to absorb the feminine into the masculine. 331
In Moshe Idel's recent monograph, Kabbalah and Eros 332 he presents new
models for the understanding of the relationship between the male and fe-
male powers within the divine and outside of it. One should also allow
other models, sometimes polychromatic ones, 333 where the Shekhina as a
female force is perceived as a source of power for a male mystic. In addi-
tion Yoni Garb has presented alternative modes, in which the feminine
power is perceived as an active power, a kabbalistic doctrine of the
Shekhina, which restores a rather normal mode of religious thought and
imagination, as described in Far Eastern religious thought.

In Gikatilla's writings we discover different modes of gender-construct,
which need to be analyzed in an additional study.

Cf. also Sod haKeruvim, Ms Parma di Rossi 1230, fol. 108a ff.

On homoeroticism as a mystical ideal of transvaluation see E. R. Wolfson, "Cross-
ing gender boundaries", in Circle in the Square: Studies in the Use of Gender in Kabba-
listic Symbolism, Albany 1995, pp. 107-1 10.

329 Cf. ibid., note 51.

330 Cf. Ch. Mopsik, "The Body of Engenderment in the Hebrew Bible, the rabbinic
Tradition and the Kabbalah", in ed. M. Feher, Fragments for a History of the Human
Body, New York 1989, pp. 49-74, esp. 58-60.

331 Cf. M. Idel, "Sexual Metaphors and Praxis in Kabbalah", in ed. D. Kraerner, The
Jewish Family, New York 1989, pp. 211-212.

332 Cf. M. Idel, Kabbalah and Eros, New Haven/London 2005.

333 Cf. M. Idel, Messianic Mystics, New Haven 1998, pp. 17-18, 272-273; on the di-
verse models of gender in kabbalah, cf. D. Abrams, The Female Body of God in Kabba-
listic Literature, Jerusalem 2004, p. 121 (Hebrew).

' 4 Cf. for examples, see Y. Garb, "Gender and Power in Kabbalah. A Theoretical In-
vestigation", Kabbalah. Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 13 (2005), pp.
79-107.

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2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

Within Tif'eret we observe the unification of Keter and Malkhut, in the
prayer on Rosh HaShanah. In prayer the mystic cleaves to the crown, Ein
Sof, (Sha'arei 'Orah I: 144-145) and his prayer becomes the diadem of the
highest sphere. By his prayer, he cleaves to the first sefira and unites with
it, during the time he is covered by his tallit, i.e. the cloak. There is no
more difference between them and the mystical union is achieved. I would
like therefore to speak of a "linguistic autoeroticism" 335 as Wolfson has
suggested, performed however by separate partners in an act of heteroerot-
icism. The one undivided organ, as described in the yesodic phallus and
its function within the two covenants, occurs only on a linguistic level, but
not on the ontological one, as the mystic returns after this union to his
former state of being. By identifying the enthronement with the covenant
of the tongue, 37 the Torah and the erotized knowledge of its inner action,
the mystic, whose precondition is to be a circumcised Jew, part of Knesset
Israel, can enter the sefirotic realm by means of the Mitzwoi and ritual
prayer; afterwards union with the Godhead becomes a pure technique,
which also has an theurgic effect 338 on high. The union of male and female
in kabbalistic theosophy and theurgy - the basis of its engendering myth
and praxis - is described by Wolfson as actually a reconstitution of the
male androgyne. 339 However, we have to pay attention to the details in eve-

335 See note 182.

About the reintegration of the female in the male androgynus (esp. in the.Zohar)
see E. R. Wolfson, "Woman - The Feminine as Other in Theosophic Kabbalah: Some
Philosophical Observations on the Divine Androgyne", in eds. L. Silberstein and R.
Cohn, The Other in Jewish Thought and History: Construction of Jewish Identity and
Culture, New York 1994, pp. 166-204.

One should keep in mind, that the "tongue" has also another erotic connotation as
the tongue is set in the middle of a scale as a phallic symbol. Here the weights of the
scale are thought to correspond to the testicles and the tongue in the middle to the meni-
brum virile; see Zohar 1: 33b: "Yose said: the tongue of the scale exists in the middle,
and a sign of this is (in the verse) 'measures of length, weight etc' (Lev. 19: 35).
Mishqal is the tongue that exists in the middle, and this is the secret of what is written in
Sheqel haQodesh. And scales exist with it and they are balanced. What are the scales? As
it is written 'an honest balance' (Lev. 19: 36), and all of them exist in the balance, in the
holy weight." It is evident from this text that the tongue corresponds to Yesod, or the
middle line, and the weights to Nezah and Hod, which also represent the testicles. Cf.
also the title of Moshe de Leon's Sefer haMishqal. For further sources see E. R. Wolfson,
"Erasing the Erasure/Gender and the Writing of God's Body in Kabbalistic Symbolism",
in Circle in the Square: Studies in the Use of Gender in Kabbalistic Symbolism, Albany
1995, p. 63-64 (esp. nn. 128 and 129).

I would like to suggest that the enrollment in communal ritual and the theurgic ef-
fect are the main differences between the Abulafian and the theosophic kind of mystical
union.

Cf. E. R. Wolfson, Through a Speculum that shines - Visions and Imagination in
Medieval Jewish Mysticism, Princeton 1994, p. 360. For a critique on that model as the

2.7 Impact of the Erotic Imagery on Hermeneutics

123

ry single text, as there is never a unified structure with regard to these is-
sues.

We could also use here the terms applied by Moshe de Leon in his Sefer
haRimmon where he describes prayer as a mystical union, in a metaphor of
being encompassed 340 (like the Cherubs) by a crown. As the crown sur-
rounds and is united with the head that wears it, so the worshipper is en-
compassed by and united with the divine crown, the Shekhina that is upon
his head. 341 Thus we could also call this process an inclusio of enthrone-
ment, as the initial prayer in the temple (the crowning of the ten) and the
final union with the Godhead (the crowning of the mystic) are linked by
the metaphor of the crown and its being placed on the head of the divine
glory. 342 This placing is brought about by human activity and the possibil-
ity of its becoming a throne for the divine attributes.

2.7 Impact of the Erotic Imagery on Hermeneutics

I wish to show in this paragraph how ancient, rabbinic erotic images pro-
vided a powerful tool for the mystical rereading of the biblical passages in
Gikatilla. By actualizing the imaginary in the ritual of prayer (communal)
or study of the Torah (rather individual) the metaphors are put in an onto-
logical framework by means of the active hermeneutical participation of

exclusive one, see Y. Garb, "Gender and Power in Kabbalah. A Theoretical Investiga-
tion", Kabbalah. Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 13 (2005), p. 84.

340 Cf. our further elaborations on this issue in the next chapter.

341 Cf. the interesting passage in Zohar 1 :43a where the mystic also crowns his master
via prayer: "Blessed is the portion of him who knows the secret of his master and who
can raise his standard in the proper place. Come and see. Everything is interdependent so
that all may perfect one another and illumine one another, and ascend finally to the place
where perfection is necessary, at first from below and then subsequently from above.
Then there is perfection on all sides; all is perfected as it should be. Whoever knows the-
se secrets and effects this perfection is joined to his master and annuls all the severe de-
grees, and he adorns his master and draws down blessings upon the world. This is the
man who is called righteous, the pillar of the world. His prayer does not return empty, his
portion is in the world to come and he is counted among the men of faith." Cf. I. Tishby,
Wisdom of the Zohar. An Anthology of Texts, Vol. II, London/Washington 1994, p. 604.
See also Zohar 1: 178b and 2: 209a where it is described that just as the crown' of God is
made from the words of prayer, so too the crowns of the righteous souls in the supernal
Garden of Eden are composed of words of Torah that rise from the mouth of the individ-
ual below, i.e. the kabbalists, see also Zohar 3: 21b-22a.

342 Cf. also the glory being crowned by the prayers of Israel in the Zoharic passage;
Zohar 2: 250a. For further references, see E. R. Wolfson, "Mystical-Theurgical Dimen-
sion of Prayer in Sefer ha-Rimmon", in ed. D. R. Blumenthal, Approaches to Judaism in
Medieval Times, vol. Ill, Atlanta 1988, pp. 77-78, n. 146. See also the Zoharic reference
here in n. 35.

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2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

the reader. Intense mystical experiences are described in striking sexual
images and the reader is enabled, by their practical application in reading
or ritual, to re-experience Gikatilla's mystical path. Gikatilla's use of erot-
ic images has its "Sitz im Leben" in the ritual of the community and there-
fore not only do they symbolize the aim of the individual, but also the task
for the community. Circumcision and prayer are not elitist issues but a so-
cial feature. The study of Torah is thereby not intended for the individual
alone, but considered as a task for the comrades as the Zohar passages
mentioned clearly lay down.

There is a need for research into the sociological aspects of mystical ex-
perience, esp. into the development of the secondary elites and their rela-
tion to the primary, established elites. The ground for an encounter 344 be-
tween Jewish mysticism and sociology has already been prepared. The first
monograph on this topic has been published quite recently by Philip
Wexler and Jody Myers. 345 For a correct understanding of the mystical
movements and their concepts it is essential to obtain a broader picture of
their implications for the surrounding society and culture.

In the relationship between the reader and the text, the object of his
studies, both the Torah as the matrix and the mystical text are intensified
by the description of the hermeneutical process in erotic images. The coro-
nation of the mystic in the unio mystica is compared to the sexual union
between the king and the queen, the opening of the corona in the ritual of
circumcision. The active implementation of this eroticized imagery in the
hermeneutical process is based on the strong anthropomorphic correspond-
ence between the human and the divine realm as found in Zoharic and
Gikatillian literature. Following Wolfson's suggestion we could even state
that the mystic, as the female part of the divine-human encounter, is rein-
tegrated in the text, i.e. in the male androgyne of the deity. In the mystical
union the reader is incorporated in the letters of the Torah, the verbal ex-
pression of the divine sphere. Therefore the most appropriate imagery is
found in the erotic realm, as the pictures therein represent the most power-
ful, most ontological means to describe the ideal union. However, in
Gikatilla's texts the feminine part is never totally absorbed within the
male, as the mystic is part of the earthly community, to which he must fi-
nally return.

J4J Cf. n. 286 above.

344 Cf. M. Idel, "Kabbalah and Elites in Thirteenth Century Spain", Mediterranean
Historical Review 9 (1994), pp. 5-19.

Cf. P. Wexler, Mystical Interaction. Sociology, Jewish Mysticism and Education,
Los Angeles 2007; J. Myers, Kabbalah and the Spiritual Request. The Kabbalah Centre
in America, Westport, Conn. 2007.

2. 7 Impact of the Erotic Imagery on Hermeneutics

125

As we have seen, Gikatilla proves himself master of connecting differ-
ent realms by these images, thereby creating his hermeneutics of integra-
tion of different layers of language and reality. 346 We may apply his meta-
phors to several relationships: text-reader, individual-community, reader-
ritual and mystic-deity, and thereby facilitate an integration of the different
levels in a narrative construction. Only the practical reader of his mystical
map will be able to realize the full meaning of these images in applying
them on his own ontological level. His erotic symbols are thus not simply
images, but powerful tools in uncovering the deepest meaning of the text
in its realization within the life of its reader and in enabling him to draw
down divine power with the help of a "talismanic eroticism" put into oper-
ation through communal ritual.

2.7.1 Erotic Metaphors in the Context o/Tzerufei 'Otiyyot
Circumcision and Covenant

It is interesting to compare Gikatilla's interpretation on the idea of the
"covenant of the tongue and the mouth" and the "covenant of the foreskin"
from Sefer Yetzirah 1 : 3 347 in his pre-theosophic work Ginnat 'Egoz and in
Sha'arei 'Orah. In his work of 1273-74 he comments 348 that the two cove-

346 Cf. M. Mottolese, Analogy in Midrash and Kabbalah. Interpretive Projections on
the Sanctuary and Ritual, Los Angeles 2007, p. 331.

347 Cf. I. Gruenwald, "A Preliminary Critical Edition of Sefer Yezira", Israel Oriental
Studies 1 (1971), pp. 132-177, and the English rendering in idem, "Some Critical Notes
on the First Part of Sefer Yezirah", Revue des Etudes Juives 132 (1973), p. 486. Cf. also
Sefer Yetzirah 6: 4.

348 Cf. Ginnat 'Egoz, Hanau, 1614, fol. 25b-c. We are to assume here some basic kin-
ship between the phallus and the mouth and that emission through one is like that of the
other. Gikatilla writes: "Just as a person has the covenant of the mouth between the ten.
fingers of his hands, so you will find the covenant of the foreskin between the ten toes
(literally, fingers) of his feet ... Contemplate that Peh (mouth = 85) corresponds (numer-
ically) to Milah (circumcision = 85)". Gikatilla thus interprets the passage from Sefer
Yetzirah in light of a numerical equivalence between the word "mouth" and the word for
circumcision, Milah, insofar as both equal 85. Cf. also the theosophic reworking of this
numerical equivalence in Tiqqunei Zohar 18, 32b: "The Oral Law is where the lower
Shekhina is. She is called mouth from the side of the Tzaddiq (Yesod), for the numerical
value of Peh equals that of Milah". On this equivalence, see also the contemporary of
Gikatilla, the Castilian kabbalist Jacob ben Jacob haCohen, published by G. Scholem in
Madda'ei haYahadut 2 (1927), p. 217. Cf. also the commentary of Barukh Togarmi on
Sefer Yetzirah in G. Scholem, The Kabbalah of Sefer Temunah and R. Abraham Abulafia,
ed. J. Ben-Shlomo, Jerusalem 1987, p. 232 (Hebrew) and the version in Ms Paris 770,
fol. la-6b. The numerology mentioned above was also applied by authors influenced by
Ashkenazi tradition, see e.g. Perush Rabbenu 'Efrayim 'al haTorah, eds. E. Korach and
Z. Leitner, Jerusalem 1992, p. 64, ad Gen. 18:1; cf. also Isaac bar Judah ha-Levi,
Pan 'eah Raza ', Warsaw, 1 860, 2 1 a.

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2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

nants and the respective fingers add up to the Tetragrammaton. The cove-
nant of the mouth is represented by the letter He, which numerically equals
five, in correspondence to the mouth's division into five parts: throat, pal-
ate, tongue, lips, and teeth. The ten fingers of the hand are represented by
the Yod, which equals ten. Hence, the covenant of the mouth equals Yod
He, the first two letters of the Tetragrammaton. However, the covenant of
circumcision is represented by one undivided organ. Together with the ten
toes of the feet, therefore, this covenant equals eleven, the numerical value
of Waw He, the final two letters of the divine name. "Thus the covenant of
the mouth is Yod He and the covenant of circumcision is Waw He. It fol-
lows that the sacred Name, YHWH, is divided into two parts, and they are:
the covenant of Torah, which is the covenant fixed in the mouth 349 and the
covenant of blood in the phallus".

The next passage of Gikatilla's earlier work, Ginnat 'Egoz, might be re-
ferred to the exegesis of the German Pietists on Dtn. 30: 12, 350 when he
states in Ginnat 'Egoz, p. 160: 351

(68) Since [the covenant of] circumcision comprises the final division of the sacred
Name (Waw He), you will find that the sacred Name attests to it, as it is said in the To-
rah, ".Who among us can go up to the heavens (nn-wn Mb Tibv 'a)" (Dtn. 30: 12). You
will find that the first consonants [spell] Milah (circumcision) and the last YHWH. ...
When the covenant of circumcision is established in a person, he is worthy that God
should attest of him "Who among us can go up to the heavens", for the Name YHWH
attests to [the act of] circumcision {Milah).

The complete name of God is sealed in the individual by means of the two
covenants, that one of the mouth {Yod He) and that of the phallus 352 {Waw
He). Only with regard to the latter do we find scriptural evidence that the
divine name is correlated with circumcision. Basing his argument on the
technique of German Hasidism 353 Gikatilla derives the correlation of the

349 Compare to this passage also Sha'arei 'Orah I: 85-87 and the passage in I: 114-
1 16 where the two covenants are compared to the written and the oral Torah and the deep
nexus between ritual and reading is also present.

Cf. other examples (Eleazar of Worms) in S. Blickstein, Between Philosophy and
Mysticism, PhD Dissertation JTS of America 1984, pp. 93-96.

On the Pietistic exegesis of this verse see E. R. Wolfson, "Circumcision and the
Divine Name: A Study in the Transmission of Esoteric Doctrine", Jewish Quarterly Re-
view 76 (1987), pp. 89-96.

On the phallic implication of images like Zaqan (beard) and many other images
from rabbinic sources, see also Gikatilla's Sod Yod-Gimmel Middot haNove'ot min
haKeter 'Elyon (published by G. Scholem, Kitve Yad baQabbalah, Jerusalem 1930, pp.
219-225, esp. 221-222.) Cf. E. R. Wolfson, "Crossing Gender Boundaries in Kabbalistic
Ritual and Myth", in Circle in the Square: Studies in the Use of Gender in Kabbalistic
Symbolism, Albany 1995, pp. 196-197, n. 6.

The Zokar refrains from this connection with the exegetical technique of the Pie-
tists.

2.7 Impact of the Erotic Imagery on Hermeneutics

127

divine Name with circumcision as a matrix for other 13th century Spanish
kabbalists as, for instance, Bahya ben Asher. In our comments on Tzerufei
'Otiyyot we found in Sha'arei 'Orah a kind of retreat from a former "sepa-
ration of the letters" or atomization of linguistic units towards the context
of ritual. However, I am not sure whether Gikatilla refers in the passage
mentioned above to the actual performance of the ritual or its linguistic
replacement,. In view of the fact that the contextual framework deals with
textual study and the right interpretation of the text, one might assume that
Gikatilla is concerned with the "exegetical performance of circumcision",
the aim of which is the heavenly journey. Consequently we could also in-
terpret this passage as a final reunification within the mystical textual exe-
gesis as a preparation for receiving knowledge of the higher realm.
Similarly, we read in Bahya ben Asher's commentary on Dtn. 30: 12:

(69) "Who among us can go up to heaven?" There is here an allusion to the fact that only
Israel, who is circumcised, can comprehend the Tetragrammaton, for they are sealed with
the sign of the holy covenant. We have found that only the one who is circumcised can
prophecy while standing up ... 4 And Moses too alluded to this when he said to the Holy
One, blessed be He, at the bush: "They will say to me, 'What is His Name?' What will I
say to them?" (Ex. 3: 13). He said that the circumcised would inquire about the Tetra-
grammaton". 335

According to this text there is an analogous correlation between circumci-
sion and the divine name in Moses' request at the burning bush, since (1)
the consonants of the word "To me what" (Li Man) in the question are the
very consonants of the word "circumcision" (Milah), and (2) the last letters
of the words (Li Mah Shmo Mah) spell the Tetragrammaton. Although
Bahya does not repeat the Pietistic exegesis verbatim, it is obvious that he
is referring to it in his own commentary on this verse in Dtn. We cannot
say for certain whether Bahya derived this Pietistic exegesis directly from
its source or from another one, such as Gikatilla's Ginnat 'Egoz, where Ex.
3: 13 is interpreted similarly, 356 or if R. Eleazar of Worms influenced him
directly. 357 Such finding of the Tetragrammaton in the verse of Ex. 3: 13 is

Cf. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Gen. 17: 3; Gen. Rabbah 46: 6 (ed. Theodor and
Albeck, pp. 463-464, and 47: 3, pp. 472-473; Tanhuma Lekh Lekha 20; Pirqe Rabbi
'Eli'ezer 29; Num. Rabbah 12: 10.

355 Cf. Bahya ben Asher, Be'ur 'al haTorah, ed. Ch. Chavel, Jerusalem 1981, 3: 442:
translation E. R. Wolfson, "Circumcision and the Divine Name: A Study in the Trans-
mission of Esoteric Doctrine", Jewish Quarterly Review 76 (1987), p. 106.

356 Cf. S. Blickstein, Between Philosophy and Mysticism, PhD dissertation JTS of
America, 1984 pp. 54-55.

337 Ibid., p. 55, n. 57; see also pp. 93-96; compare the opinion of Gottlieb about other
possible sources in E. Gottlieb, HaQabbalah beKitvei Rabbenu Bahya ben Asher, Jerusa-
lem 1970, pp. 148-155, 193.

128

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

also to be seen in the works of the Pietistic circle of R. Yehuda heHasid,
including Eleazar's Sefer ha Shern. 35 *

According to the statement in Sha'arei 'Orah I: 114-116, every circum-
cised Jew is "prepared" to read the Torah and understand its hidden mean-
ing. Therefore, all readers are potential mystics and have the opportunity to
discover the deeper sense of the Torah. However, in Gikatilla's later work
the divine reality is not perceived as a purely linguistic ontology, but may
rather be affected by performative acts from below.

In other kabbalistic texts the corona of the penis symbolically corresponds
to the feminine Shekhina, a correlation facilitated by the fact that the word
'Atarah, crown, is the technical name of the corona (lat. crown) as well as
one of the designations for the Shekhina 359 Wolfson suggests 360 that the
male organ is the ontic source of both the masculine and the feminine and
that therefore the religious significance of circumcision lies in the fact that
by means of this ritual the androgynous unity 361 of God is established.
Judged from the human standpoint this rite signifies the opportunity to
gain access to the two aspects of the divine.

A key to the understanding of the close correspondence between the
coronation of the mystic in Sha'arei 'Orah, where he becomes the 'Atarah
(diadem), the study of the biblical text and the circumcision can be found
in Gikatilla's statement in Ms Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica ebr. 283, fol.
51a where the secret of the covenant is described as the corona, the mys-
tery of the glorious crown. With circumcision a man achieves two grada-
tions: the crown and the secret of the All as one unity. For this reason the
human corona is cut as these two matters are one.

The passage can be interpreted in such a way that the divine unity com-
prises both the male and female aspects of the deity (see also Sha'arei
'Orah 1: 71), which are united in the rite of circumcision. As mentioned
above the two covenants are closely connected and circumcision is the

8 Cf. Sefer haShem, Ms British Museum 737, fols. I74a, 175a. See also Perush
haRoqeah 'al haTorah, ed. Ch. Konyevsky, Bne Brak 1980, 2: 21.
359 Cf. e.g.Zohar 1: 162a.

Cf. E. R. Wolfson, "Crossing Gender Boundaries in Kabbalistic Ritual and Myth",
in Circle in the Square: Studies in the Use of Gender in Kabbalistic Symbolism, Albany
1995, pp. 88-89.

Sha'arei 'Orah I: 71 could be interpreted in favor of the factthat sexual duality is
contextual ized in the divine phallus, as Yesod comprises both male and female, the fiery
sword in the rabbinic literature, symbolized as androgynous in the Garden of Eden. See
also the text mentioned above.

362 Cf. also Ms Munich, Bayrische Staatsbibliothek 56, fol. 193b; printed in E. R.
Wolfson, "Crossing Gender Boundaries in Kabbalistic Ritual and Myth", in Circle in the
Square: Studies in the Use of Gender in Kabbalistic Symbolism, Albany 1995, p. 88.

2.7 Impact of the Erotic Imagery on Hermeneutics

129

condition for a successful study of the mystical text and the mystic's en-
trance into the hidden secrets of the biblical passages. With the opening of
the symbol of Yesod, the male organ, the divine influx can reach the femi-
nine entity, Malkhut, and a fruitful encounter between the mystic and the
text is made possible. If we accept Wolfson's theory of the reintegration of
the feminine into the divine male androgyne, this would imply that the
mystic (representing the female aspect) was formerly part of the text and
now in his coronation becomes reunited with the divine words, i.e. returns
to his origin. This image perfectly suits our observations regarding the an-
thropomorphic image of the Torah and the possibility of the human limbs
becoming the Kisse, the throne, for the divine attributes. However, we
must recognize that we are dealing here with a twofold process: one as-
cending and one descending. At the moment when the two actions coin-
cide, the mystic has reached the aim of his practical study of the Torah and
becomes united with the object of his studies. This unification includes a
transformation of the mystic, i.e. he becomes the diadem ('Atarah) of the
Godhead, the Shekhina. Such a transformation of the mystic may also be
described with the metaphor of weaving as the letters are re-woven in his
linguistic and ritualistic activity and he himself is interwoven into the di-
vine sphere. This could be regarded as an integration of different ontologi-
cal levels via the linguistic means of the mystical hermeneutics, a creation
of a new narrative.

I would like to suggest that as the acts below have an effect and impact
on the corresponding realities in the divine realm - the union of a man and
his wife assists in the unification of the male and the female aspects of
God (Zohar 3: 37b) - we could speak about a talismanic sexuality or eroti-
cism in kabbalistic texts of the 13th century Castilian mystics. Not only
language but also religious acts have a crucial influence on the sefirotic
system and its unification. In contrast to Ginnat 'Egoz, where Gikatilla is
not concerned with sexual metaphors or gender constructs in the deity, that
aspect is stressed in Sha'arei 'Orah. Furthermore, the linguistic techniques
as an act of preparation have no substantial task, as Gikatilla is rather in-
terested in the ordering of the sefirotic realm by reforming the ritual.

The transformation of the mystic in this process could be described as a
gender-construct and not simply as a highly intensive intellectual activity.
We might assume that the difference between the use of Tzerufei 'Otiyyot
in the early writings and the later ones of Gikatilla may be summarized as
follows: in the ecstatic period he uses Tzeruf in order to replace the actual
ritual on a higher level and induce cosmic and divine harmony through lin-

353 Cf. Y. Garb, "Gender and Power in Kabbalah. A Theoretical Investigation", Kab-
balah. Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 13 (2005), pp. 79-107; cf. also M.
Idel, Kabbalah and Eros, New Haven/London 2005, e.g. p. 220.

130

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

guistic techniques, whereas in works of the later period like Sha'arei
'Orah the performance of the ritual as an integral part of the experience
itself establishes the basis for the mystic's ascent and the sefirotic harmo-
ny.

In Sha'arei 'Orah I: 115-116 Gikatilla writes:

(70) If Israel had not received the covenant of the flesh, they would never have merited
[to receive] the Torah which is the covenant of the tongue ... Therefore the Torah is only
given to one who has received the covenant of the flesh, and from the covenant of the
flesh one enters into the covenant of the tongue, which is the reading of the Torah. 364

In midrashic and aggadic sources one finds an inherent connection be-
tween the covenant of circumcision and the covenant of Sinai. Two ideas
are essential to Gikatilla' s interpretation of the sources in this context: a)
that the rite of circumcision was given to Israel as a necessary precondition
for their receiving the Torah at Sinai 365 and b) that Brit Milah is equivalent
to all the commandments of the Torah. In the Zohar and in Sha'arei
'Orah the Torah, i.e. the divine name as a symbol, is centralized in the
sefira of Yesod and thereby an intrinsic correspondence between textual
study and the phallus is established. 367 Qiryat Torah has to be understood

Cf. E. R. Wolfson, "Circumcision and the Divine Name: A Study in the Transmis-
sion of Esoteric Doctrine", Jewish Quarterly Review 76 (1987), p. 105, n. 86; see also
Abulafia, 'Otzar 'Eden Ganuz, Ms Oxford 1580, fol. 5a: "If not for the covenant of cir-
cumcision one could nor fulfill the covenant of the tongue (i.e. the Torah)"; see also Mo-
ses of Kiev, 'Otzar haShem, Ms JTS Mic. 1804, fol. 40b: "There is no way to approach
God (Shem haMeyyuhad) ... who is the written Torah through the gate which is called
covenant (of circumcision) ... Thus one must place the covenant (of circumcision) before
the Torah" ; cf. bBer. 48b; Zohar 2: 168b.

Cf. Pesiqta Rabbati 23, ed. M. Friedmann (Vienna 1880), p. 117a; Tanhuma, Lekh
Lekha 20; Aggadat Bereshit 17; Bereshit Rabbati, ed. Ch. Albeck, Jerusalem, 1940, p.
73; and cf. Sifre Num. 108, ed. H. S. Horovitz, Jerusalem, 1966, p. 108, where in the
name of R. Judah the Prince is stated that before Israel received the Torah they had to
undergo circumcision and ritual immersion, and offer a sacrifice. In this sense the experi-
ence at Sinai is a paradigm for the procedure of all future conversions. See also L.
Schiffman, Who was a Jew? Rabbinic and Halakhic Perspectives on the Jewish-Christian
Schism, Hoboken 1985, p. 19; idem, "The rabbinic understanding of the covenant", Re-
view and Expositor 84 (1987), p. 294.

366 Cf. pNed. 3: 9, "Great is circumcision, for it is equivalent to all the other com-
mandments". And Mekhilta de R. Ishmael, BaHodesh 2, p. 208, where according to the
statement of Akiva, observance of circumcision and abstinence from idolatry are seen as
tantamount to observing the entire covenant. On the correspondence between circumci-
sion and all the Mitzwot, see Mahzor Vitri, p. 628: "Berit corresponds to all the com-
mandments. For the 613 commandments are equal to the numerical value of the word
Berit (612) plus the commandment (of circumcision) itself."

07 See E. R. Wolfson, "Circumcision, Vision of God, and Textual Interpretation:
From Midrashic Trope to Mystical Symbol", in idem, Circle in the Square: Studies in the
Use of Gender in Kabbalistic Symbolism, Albany 1995, pp. 205-215.

2. 7 Impact of the Erotic Imagery on Hermeneutics

131

in a double sense: reading and calling. In the Zohar and in Sha'arei
'Orah circumcision, Torah study and isolated homiletical insights have be-
come an integral part of a developed mystical theosophy. We could even
talk about a "gender-construct" of the mystical Torah reader, as the study
of Torah is limited to the one who has the sign of the covenant. 369 This ap-
proach is based on the equation of Torah and the divine name on the one
hand, and the place of circumcision and the divine name on the other. By
the concept of transitivity, moreover, the place of circumcision, the divine
gradation of Yesod, is identical with the Torah or sometimes even with the
mystic. 370 This is the reason why it is forbidden to teach Torah to a non-
Jew, i.e. someone that is not circumcised and does therefore not participate
in the divine name, 371 i.e. does not know the Hebrew letters and their mys-
tical function.

368 In the sense of praying and entering into the sefirotic realm.

369 In the Zohar this topic is developed in such a way that the kabbalist can even ful-
fill the role of Yesod, the conduit that connects the masculine and the feminine aspects of
the Godhead. The kabbalists do not only cleave to the Shekhina, but they assist in the
unification of the latter with her masculine consort (3: 260a). As we read in Zohar 2: 46a
(trans. I. Tishby, Mishnat haZohar, Jerusalem 1975, 2:413-414): "At midnight the Holy
One, blessed be He, enters the Garden of Eden to take delight with the righteous. At that
time one must rise to study Torah. Thus it is said that the Holy one, blessed be He, and
all the righteous in the Garden of Eden listen to His voice, as it is written, 'O you who
linger in the garden, lovers are listening; let me hear your voice' (Cant. 8: 13). The one
who lingers in the garden, i.e. the Community of Israel, for she praises him before the
Holy One, blessed be He, by virtue of the praise of Torah at night. Happy is the lot of the
one who joins her to praise the Holy One, blessed be He, by means of the praise of To-
rah. When morning comes the Community of Israel comes and takes delight with the Ho-
ly One, blessed be He, and He extends her the scepter of mercy (i.e. the sefira Yesod
which corresponds to the phallus). She does not enter alone but together with those who
join her. Thus it is written: 'By day may the lord vouchsafe His faithful care, so that at
night (a song to Him may be with me, a prayer to the God of my life)' (Ps. 42: 9)."

370 Cf. Zohar 1: 92a-b where the ascent experience of the kabbalist, brought about
through the study of Torah at the midnight hour, culminates in the ecstatic experience of
ontic transformation. The transformation is characterized as the pouring forth of Yesod,
the ever gushing stream, upon the heads of the kabbalists such as they draw sustenance
from the sefirotic entities, the plants of the Garden of Eden. Implicit here is the symboli-
zation of the coronation motif as some form of unification. See M. Idel, "Universaliza-
tion and Integration: Two Conceptions of Mystical Union in Jewish Mysticism",' in eds.
M. Idel and B. McGinn, Mystical Union and Monotheistic Faith: An Ecumenical Dia-
logue, New York 1989, pp. 35-36, 99, n. 127; cf. E. R. Wolfson, "Female Imaging of the
Torah: From Literary Metaphor to Religious Symbol", in idem, Circle in the Square:
Studies in the Use of Gender in Kabbalistic Symbolism, Albany 1995, pp. 1-28.

371 On the correlation between circumcision and the ability to see the Shekhina in the
Zohar, see E. R. Wolfson, "Circumcision, Vision of God, and Textual Interpretation:
From Midrashic Trope to Mystical Symbol", in idem, Circle in the Square: Studies in the
Use of Gender in Kabbalistic Symbolism, Albany 1995, pp. 29-48.

132

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

In the Zohar 3: 91b this finds expression in the following words:

(71) The Torah was not given [at Sinai] except to him who had the Holy covenant [of
circumcision]. He who teaches Torah to one who is not circumcised lies with respect to
the two covenants; to the covenant of the Torah [since the student is ignorant of the func-
tion of the letters] and to the covenant of the Tzaddiq (Yesod) and the Knesset Israel
(Skekkina). The Torah was given to this place and to no other ... "The righteous shall
surely praise Your Name" (Ps. 140: 14). Who are the righteous? The Tzaddiq and the
Knesset Israel. The one who is not circumcised and has not entered the covenant shall
not praise the holy Name which is the Torah. 372

In this passage we see the coalescence of the Sinaitic covenant of the To-
rah and the Abrahamic covenant of circumcision: "He who guards the holy
covenant is as if he had fulfilled the holy Torah in its entirety, for the cov-
enant (of circumcision) is equivalent to the entire Torah".

This would never work on a purely linguistic level but only on the prac-
tical one. Therefore the use of Tzerufei 'Otiyyot is only an initial stage into
the mystical process, which is to be crowned in the real performance which
functions on two levels. In contrast to this concept we have observed in
our passages from Ginnat 'Egoz that the exegetical process culminates in
the reunification of the letters or punctuation of the divine name, which
brings about harmony on all three levels.

2.8 Concluding Remarks

I have tried to show here how in Ginnat 'Egoz the dominant issue is not
the anthropomorphic application of the stature of the world but the mathe-
matical dimension, the decad or perfect number, by reference to which a
variety of classifications is organized in the mystical technique of letter
combination. Inasmuch as the letters of the Hebrew alphabet graphically
present the numbers, there is no conceptual way to separate the mathemati-
cal and the linguistic. This principle of kabbalistic semiotics as is exempli-
fied in Ginnat 'Egoz, and other treatises of that school base their
knowledge and techniques firmly on Pythagorean principles of number and
the cosmos. Gikatilla's systemic elaborations on the numerical approach is
part of a broader "explosion" of this approach in the medieval period, in
particular in the Ashkenazi exegesis of the twelfth century, starting with
Yehuda heHasid's Sefer haGetr.atriot. Gikatilla's earlier concepts of
Tzerufei 'Otiyyot mainly consist in the use of Gematriot, which occurred in

372 Cf. Zohar 3: 91b, see E. R. Wolfson, "Circumcision and the Divine Name: A Study
in the Transmission of Esoteric Doctrine", Jewish Quarterly Review 76 (1987), p. 105.

373 Cf. Zohar 1: 197a; cf. Zohar 2: 61a.

2.8 Concluding Remarks

133

the Early Middle Ages and extended from Byzantium to Central Europe.
Correspondences between the numerical values of different words allow
the mystic to discover esoteric correspondences and thus to gain access to
the divine realm by means of linguistic techniques. Gikatilla bases such
assumptions on Pythagorean principles of number and the cosmos. A cru-
cial role in his application of cosmic principles on the inner point is played
by the correspondence between the cosmic center point and the vocaliza-
tion point, esp. the Holam, as the highest possible linguistic entity to re-
semble the supernatural world. By the manipulation of these linguistic axi-
oms the mystic can place himself in the center of the universe and gain
power over it by means of the vocalization points. This highly energetic
mental activity may have as its logical consequence the development of an
interpretive practice based upon a number of devices for deconstructing the
formal-literary facet of the text: plays on the numerical values of the letters
(Gematriot, etc.), new words made up of the letters of real words like No-
tarikon, Rashei Tevot, Sofei Tevot, anagrams, permutations of the letters by
means of new alphabetical orders, emphasis on the points of vocalization
or cantillation etc. The last coherent stage of such a process is the produc-
tion of an exegetical form absolutely non-systemic and non-selective,
which collects a vortex of seemingly casual and potentially endless free
associations, and assembles them, employing for this an inclusive, hyper-
bolic and paratactic style, which we encounter esp. in the last part of Gin-
nat 'Egoz- However, Gikatilla tries to restrict such infinite semiosis by re-
ferring to strict regulations for the combinatory techniques, which are ac-
cessible only to the initiated. Maurizio Mottolese has shown that such a
reckless approach 375 dominates Ashkenazi exegesis and Oriental-Byzantine
positions such as those of Barukh Togarmi to such an extent that it is ulti-
mately hard to guess the real consistency of a vertical reference to the
supernal dimension: the inner-textual, semiotic, cumulative character of
this analogical approach might intentionally confuse and hide more than it-
discloses. Somehow the new narrative, the imaginary cartography may be
more pregnant than the actual configuration of the world.

The practice of letter permutation conceived as a path of the Kawwanah
in ecstatic prayer was recently analyzed by Adam Afterman. 377 Such a

374 Cf. I. Ta-Shma, Studies in Medieval Rabbinic Literature, vols. 1-2, Jerusalem
2004 (Hebrew). Cf. S. Lieberman, "A Mesopotamian Background for the so-called Ag-
gadic Measures of Biblical Hermeneutics?", Hebrew Union College Annual 58 (1987),
pp. 157-225.

375 Cf. M. Mottolese, Analogy in Midrash and Kabbalah. Interpretive Projections on
the Sanctuary and Ritual, Los Angeles 2007, p. 180.

376 Cf. Barukh Togarmi in his Perush leSefer Yetzirah, Ms Paris 770.

377 Cf. A. Afterman, "Letter Permutation. Techniques, Kavannah and Prayer in Jewish
Mysticism", Journal for the Study of Religions. and Ideologies 6.19 (2007), pp. 52-78.

134

2 Tzerufei 'Otiyyot

practice is found in the writings of an anonymous Catalonian kabbalist of
the 13 lh century, like Abulafia and Toganrii a follower of the linguistic
school of kabbalah. In particular, Afterman's discussions of the broader
connection between ecstasy and ritual, particularly prayer in the earlier
stages of Judaism, are extremely valuable for the contextualization of
Gikatilla's approach within medieval kabbalistic writings with regard to
mystical union and ritual.

Although we find remnants of former linguistic techniques in his later
work, 378 Gikatilla transfers the manipulative exegetical activity from the
level of Niqqud to the level of words in Sha'arei 'Orah. He concentrates in
his later period on different structures, in order to designate the mystic's
encounter with the text, such as powerful erotic metaphors with respect to
the actual performance of ritual.

I would like to suggest a comparison between the stages of Gikatilla's
use of numerology and his transition to images, and Proclus' three types of
images: a) the mathematical likeness, or form, in intelligible reality, b) the
visible manifestation of that form and c) the representation of the visible
image in painting, sculpture, mirrors etc. The mathematical value in nu-
merology, its manifestation in letters and the images adduced in Gikatilla's
later period as an analogous structure for textual interpretation might lead
to a fruitful comparative encounter between the two modes of thinking.

We might describe the difference between the use of Tzerufei 'Otiyyot
in Gikatilla's early writings and in those of his later period as follows: in
the ecstatic period he uses Tzeruf in order to replace the actual ritual on a
higher, intellectual level and induce cosmic and divine harmony through
linguistic techniques, whereas in works of the later period such as Sha'arei
'Orah the actual performance of the ritual is an integral part of the experi-
ence itself, which establishes the basis for the mystic's ascent and his re-
establishment of the sefirotic harmony. The linguistic activity is regarded
as an initial step towards the mystical encounter, which can be achieved
only on the basis of actual, physical activity such as the pronunciation of
the letters, the performance of the ritual or sexual union with one's wife 379
in a talismanic model of eroticism.

Cf. M. Verman, "The Development of Yihudim in Spanish Kabbalah", Jerusalem
Studies in Jewish Thought 8 (1989), p. 32 (English Section).

379 Cf. Y. Garb, "Gender and Power in Kabbalah. A Theoretical Investigation", Kab-
balah. Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 13 (2005), p. 84; and M. Idel, Kab-
balah and Eros, New Haven/London 2005, p. 220.

3 Status of the Text

Introduction

In medieval Jewish mysticism there is an intense interaction between lin-
guistic mystical techniques and the status of the biblical text. The mutabil-
ity and accommodation of Torah play a significant role and may be de-
scribed in four categories: astrological, eschatological, Neoplatonic and
combinatory. Naturally, we hardly find pure forms of these categories, but
it is possible to associate Gikatilla's early, non-symbolic work with the
first category and his later work with the last. In modern scholarship the
best-known type of Torah-mutability has related to certain forms of the
theory of Shmittot and Yovelim, namely cosmic circles of seven thousand
and forty-nine thousand years. Like Moshe de Leon in his early 'Or Zaru'a
Gikatilla combines in his Ginnat 'Egoz these astrological concepts of order
with linguistic theories derived from Sefer Yetzirah. I am inclined to at-
tribute this combination to a philosophical trend within Jewish mysticism
which has been deeply influenced by Pythagorean thought. On the other
hand, the Neoplatonic and the combinatory forms with their ideas of pro-
cessio 1 and reversio are indebted to the strong Neoplatonic influences dur-
ing the Middles Ages and also found their way into kabbalistic thought.
The latter concepts provide the basis for Gikatilla's description of the To-
rah in the introduction to Sha'arei 'Orah as a woven tapestry of sacred
names. The words as symbolic forms are woven into a metonymic chain,
the right knowledge of which reserve the function and the aim of the verti-
cal hermeneutics taught within the kabbalistic lexicographic texture. 2 In

Cf. S. Gersh, From Iamblichus to Eriugena. An Investigation of the Prehistory and
Evolution of the Pseudo-Dionysian Tradition, Leiden 1978, p. 37, the idea is mentioned
that the downward emanative process ends at a point where the potencies are received by
the effect of the radiating cause. The term used for what is received is sometimes "poten-
cies", but sometimes "activities" (energeiai). We have to compare this with Gikatilla's
idea of the nvrsro (activity) as the kdd (throne) for the divine influx.

2 On the use of this metaphor in erotic allegory of procreation including also the key-
concept, see Gikatilla's teacher, Abraham Abulafia, 'Imre Shefer, Ms Paris BN 777, fol.
47^*8, Ms Munich 40, fol. 247a-b; cf. M. Idel, The Mystical Experience, pp. 193-194,
esp. n. 93 on the Gematriot included in this passage.

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